The Shedd Aquarium, bastion of Chicago’s Beluga whales and Moray eels, has played host over the last two years to the fork-tongued, cold-blooded and scaled. After an extended stay, “Lizards and the Komodo King,” which opened in 2006, is in its final weeks. The exhibit spotlights more than twenty-five species of lizard, most of which ignore the glass-tapping of the museum’s younger guests with unflappable aplomb. Much like a colorful carnival freak-show, the exhibit focuses on the amazing feats of these reptiles. Some lizards change color for camouflage, some clone themselves, others use their tails like prehensile arms and still others do away with their tails all together. The exhibit’s headliner is Faust, a 120-pound Komodo dragon. Guests gawk at the enormous creature; this dangerous, carnivorous inhabitant of Indonesia is the world’s largest lizard and has the distinction of being able to eat a pig in twenty minutes. Faust, the lizard king, takes his final bow Labor Day. (Laura Hawbaker)
“Lizards and the Komodo King” shows at the Shedd Aquarium, 1200 South Lake Shore Drive (312)939-2438) through September 1.
