Two beluga whales died Wednesday at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, a devastating development that came amid an international effort to relocate whales from an abandoned Canadian theme park.
The deaths followed the loss of another beluga from the same shuttered marine park just last week, ABC7 reported, deepening concern around the recently rescued animals.
In a statement sent to Our News Outlet, Shedd Aquarium said: “Two beluga whales at Shedd Aquarium passed away despite immediate efforts by animal care and veterinary teams to provide lifesaving measures.
“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. Necropsies, blood tests, and additional exams are underway to help better understand what happened.
“Rain, a 20-year-old female rescued beluga, arrived at Shedd in mid-August as part of the recent international rescue effort. Beethoven, a 34-year-old male, was part of Shedd’s resident beluga pod. At this time, it’s impossible to know if these passings are isolated or related.”
The final group of rescued beluga whales reached Shedd Aquarium on Tuesday, marking another step in the broader operation to move the animals to new facilities.
Since July, multiple belugas have been removed from the non-operational Marineland in Canada after officials warned that the remaining whales could be euthanized.
Marineland, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been closed to visitors for two years. In 2025, officials threatened to end the lives of 30 beluga whales still housed at the park.
The mission to bring the animals to new homes kick-started in July, following years of campaigning by the charity TideBreakers
Beluga whales can be up to 15-feet long and weigh up to 3,300 pounds. The whales are moved to facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, San Antonio, San Diego and Spain
Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, has been closed to the public for two years. In 2025 it threatened to euthanize 30 animals that had been left alone in its tanks
After years of campaigning, a mission kick-started by the charity TideBreakers in the US two years ago focused on moving the animals to new homes.
At the beginning of the rescue efforts, TideBreakers co-founder, Marketa Schusterova, said: ‘It’s a milestone – we’ve been trying to do this for a decade.’
‘The TideBreakers team has monitored Marineland Canada, documenting conditions, exposing animal deaths, and advocating for improved welfare for every animal held at the facility,’ she added.
In July, Schusterova warned that despite their positive view on the rescue efforts, ‘there are currently no operational sea sanctuaries for beluga whales anywhere in the world capable of receiving these animals immediately.’
‘As a result, relocation to another captive facility is presently the only realistic short-term option to improve the welfare of animals living in deteriorating conditions while long-term sanctuary solutions continue to be developed,’ she said at the time.
Schusterova told Our News Outlet that she was ‘shocked’ by how fast the animals were moved.
She also said that because of the bad conditions in which the animals had to live previously, individual assessments of the beluga whales would have been necessary before their transport.
Schusterova added it was ‘alarming’ that Shedd Aquairum is the only facility so far where three beluga whales died within a week, while those animals in other facilities are reportedly doing fine.
Already at the start of the rescue efforts, TideBreakers co-founder, Marketa Schusterova, warned that ‘there are currently no operational sea sanctuaries for beluga whales anywhere in the world capable of receiving these animals immediately’
Schusterova added that ‘relocation to another captive facility is presently the only realistic short-term option’ while long-term solutions have to be developed
Although an animal care team at the Shedd Aquarium looked after the animals around the clock, three of the rescued belugas died recently
The Aquarium released a statement saying that it’s ‘impossible to know if these passings are isolated or related’
The two belugas that died were named Rain, a 20-year-old female, and Beethoven, a 34-year-old male.The belugas in the photo do not represent the duo, but Yukon and Gimli, both of which were also rescued and welcomed earlier this week
An animal care team in Chicago had observed all nine rescued whales around the clock, ABC7 reported.
Other whales are going to facilities in Atlanta, San Antonio, San Diego and Spain.
The Daily Mail contacted the Shedd Aquarium and TideBreakers for comment.
