Three beluga whales die in eight days at Chicago aquarium

Three beluga whales have died in just eight days at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, United States. Two of them had arrived only weeks earlier from the closed Marineland park in Canada.

Rain, a 20-year-old female from Marineland, and Beethoven, a 34-year-old male, both died on Wednesday. Their deaths came eight days after Peekachu, another recently transferred Marineland beluga, died on 25 August.

It is not yet known why the three whales died or whether their deaths are connected. Shedd Aquarium is carrying out necropsies and other medical tests.

The deaths come during a major change at Shedd. The aquarium has taken in ten belugas from Marineland over the past six weeks as part of an international operation to move all the whales and dolphins out of the Canadian park.

The last two, Yukon and Gimli, arrived at Shedd on 1 September, one day before Rain and Beethoven died.

Peekachu was the first to die

Peekachu, a 23-year-old female, arrived at Shedd from Marineland on 13 August together with Rain, Caspian and Secord.

Shedd said Peekachu was partially blind and had difficulty socialising with other whales before arriving in Chicago. At first, staff reported positive changes in her behaviour.

But she was not consistently eating her full diet. Blood tests later showed that she was severely dehydrated. She died while staff were trying to give her fluids and medication.

Her exact cause of death has not yet been established.

Ten Marineland belugas went to Shedd

The ten whales sent to Chicago were part of a much larger operation involving 30 belugas and four dolphins left at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The operation was completed on 1 September.

Of the 30 belugas, 16 were moved to SeaWorld facilities in San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California. Ten went to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Two, Balor and Zephyr, went to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

The final two belugas, Cleopatra and Jelly Bean, were sent to Oceanogràfic in Valencia, Spain, together with Marineland’s four dolphins: Echo, Lida, Marina and Tsunami.

A troubled history at Marineland

The relocation followed years of concern about animal welfare at Marineland. The park closed to visitors and later said it was running out of money and could no longer afford to care for its remaining marine mammals.

Between 2019 and 2025, 19 belugas, one killer whale and one dolphin died at Marineland, according to The Canadian Press, based on government records and official statements.

Marineland initially planned to send its remaining whales and dolphins to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China. The Canadian government blocked that plan.

Marineland then warned that the belugas could be euthanised if it did not receive emergency government funding. Instead, aquariums in the United States and Spain agreed to take them.