Questions emerge after 4th beluga death at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium following whale transfers from Canada
The death of a fourth beluga whale in less than a month at Shedd Aquarium is raising questions about the health of whales recently transferred from a now-closed Canadian marine park and whether the emergency relocation process may have contributed to their struggles.
The latest whale to die was Osiris, a 26-year-old beluga who was among a group of 30 whales relocated from Marineland Park in Ontario, Canada. Three of the four belugas that have died at the aquarium in recent weeks were part of that transfer.
Animal welfare advocates have questioned both the condition of the whales before they were moved and the oversight surrounding the relocation effort.
"The Marineland whales have never been in great health. Since 2019, when Canada outlawed keeping dolphins and whales in captivity and breeding existing ones, about 20 whales have died. So, that's an enormous number, 20 of 55," said Camille Labchuke, executive director of Animal Justice.
Marineland permanently closed to the public in 2024, but the whales remained at the facility until recently, when the park's owner threatened to euthanize the animals if new homes could not be found. Shedd Aquarium agreed to take 10 of the whales, which began arriving in July.
Labchuke criticized what she says has been a lack of transparency from the outset.
"We don't know who approved these transfers, what the veterinary assessments said, whether the vets were sufficiently independent, and whether there was any prospect of preventing these deaths by giving them additional veterinary care before they were moved," she said.
Canadian officials defended the transfer process. In a statement, a spokesperson for Canada's minister of fisheries said, "This was a complex operation, and our thoughts are with the care staff who worked tirelessly to support Osiris and the other belugas. The Minister remains confident that the transfer plan gives these belugas their best chance of survival."
Not all of the recent beluga deaths involved transferred whales. Beethoven, a beluga who died earlier this month, had lived at Shedd Aquarium for decades.
Dr. Lori Marino of the Whale Sanctuary Project suggested the arrival of new whales could have created stress within the existing population.
"I don't think it's a coincidence," Marino said. "All of a sudden everything changes. these new unfamiliar whales come in. Everything is mixed up and that's stressful."
Officials are awaiting necropsy results to determine the causes of death. Shedd Aquarium has said Beethoven's Sept. 2 death was unexpected while acknowledging the challenges of caring for the transferred whales.
In a statement, the aquarium said, "From the outset, teams involved in this rescue understood that many of these whales arrived with complex health needs and that the path ahead would be difficult the rescue offered urgently needed care and a path forward, but it could not guarantee every outcome. That does not make the loss any less painful."
The recent losses are not limited to Chicago. An additional beluga death was confirmed at an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, a few days ago, according to the report.
