Two more whales have died at a Chicago aquarium, including one that recently moved there as part of the massive undertaking to relocate 30 belugas and four dolphins from Marineland.
The whales died Wednesday afternoon despite “immediate efforts by animal care and veterinary teams to provide lifesaving measures,” Shedd Aquarium said in a news release.
Rain, a 20 year-old beluga, arrived at Shedd in mid-August after being moved out of the closed tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Beethoven, a 34-year-old beluga that had lived decades in Chicago, was the other whale to die.
“These losses are hard, made more difficult by the fact that it will take time to get concrete answers about what led to their passings,” Shedd said in a statement.
“Necropsies, blood tests and additional exams are underway to help better understand what happened.”
Marineland said it was “deeply saddened” to learn of Rain’s death.
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“Our thoughts are with the trainers and staff who loved and supported Rain.”
Marineland, along with Shedd and several other aquariums, recently completed an unprecedented relocation of captive whales after shipping 30 belugas and four dolphins to five destinations.
Another Marineland beluga, Peekachu, died last week at Shedd after it became severely dehydrated. An investigation into Peekachu’s death remains ongoing.
The animals were the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada after the federal government banned the practice in 2019, but granted an exception for Marineland.
Marineland is up for sale and sources say a deal is in place for the land so long as the animals are gone. Several hundred deer still remain at the park.
Marineland closed to the public in 2024. Its founder, John Holer, died in 2018 and his widow, Marie Holer, died not long after the park closed for good.
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The park has said it was running out of money and had to get its animals out.
The federal government blocked a previous plan to move the whales to an aquarium in China, which prompted Marineland to threaten to euthanize the animals if it did not get an emergency cash infusion.
Marineland turned to a consortium of aquariums abroad.
The whales and dolphins have moved to Shedd, SeaWorld locations in San Diego and San Antonio, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.
The whales were given a clean bill of health in the days before each move, with Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson responsible for giving the final approval before each of the six moves.
Nineteen belugas, one killer whale and one dolphin died at Marineland between 2019 and 2025.
In 2021, Marineland moved five whales to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
Two of those whales died within a year of the move and the third died two years after the transfer. Mystic said the whales had pre-existing conditions while Marineland said they were healthy when they left.
Abolish zoos and aquariums! There’s no need to put animals in cages or tanks. If it’s for their betterment (rehab etc) then make sanctuarys. But stop selling public access. If you’re really doing good for the animals, you don’t need to make a profit. While I get it’s how to sustain yourself, the governments need to do better. Animals don’t belong for human entertainment.
Why are you killing all the whales marineland?! Something doesn’t add up. They’re magically healthy and lived long lives and get shipped off to die. One loss is enough but over 20 animals dying. Nope something bigger is happening.
These animals should be free not in a zoo, 34 years old and in a few weeks dies disgusting!
Should have just left them in their natural habitat , no wild animal should be kept in captivity. It’s their land and sea not ours.
When is this kinda stuff going to be ileagal. Unless the animals is completely extinct and needs help this is bull. No animal should ever be locked up .. sicking!
I too am sickened by this! These folks are nothing more than jailers. Who the heck are we to contain these precious creatures! These are not some primitive life form. The mental anguish and torment all these creatures suffer must be horrible. They were meant to live and thrive in the immense oceans. Not live out a nightmare scenario in a concrete tank for the enjoyment of the human race. Stress will kill as sure as anything else and I strongly suspect it played a major role here. Mother nature has her ways to balance the right and wrong of things in this world we all live in. We will pay for the wrong we do.
How about it’s the fact that these beautiful mammals just don’t belong in a tank. They’re meant to be in there natural habitats. Stop the capture and containment of wildlife for the purpose of entertainment humanity who are just to oblivious and arrogant to realize the stress this out on these animals. If you want to see them. See them in the natural habitats, the best place to see them where they happy and natural.
I am disgusted that this has been allowed to happen.
It would appear after so mamy deaths of so many captive whales that they do not tolerate being relocated from one aquarium to another. How about this? Why not relocate them back to their home… the Ocean where they were taken from. Something tells me these poor mamals would hsve a better chance for survival if they were returned to their rightful home. If nothing else they would die free back in the open oceon not floating dead in another man made fish tank.
These animals were poorly treated and lacked proper medical treatment at Marineland.