2 more beluga whales die at Chicago aquarium, including 1 recently
rescued from Canada
[September 04, 2026]
By CYBELE MAYES-OSTERMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — Two more beluga whales have died at Chicago's Shedd
Aquarium, including one that was rehomed at the facility just weeks
earlier as part of an international effort to rescue Canada's last
captive whales, the aquarium announced Wednesday.
Rain, a 20-year-old female, was the second to die out of a group of four
whales that were moved to the Chicago aquarium in mid-August from a
shuttered water park in Ontario. A whale named Peekachu died last week
as caretakers tried to revitalize it.
The third whale to die, a 34-year-old male named Beethoven, had lived at
Shedd Aquarium for decades, the aquarium said in an announcement.
The aquarium did not indicate the cause of the whales’ deaths in its
announcement. “Necropsies, blood tests and additional exams” of their
bodies are in process, it said.
“These deaths were unexpected and there is still much we do not know
about what led to them," officials said in the statement.
Shedd Aquarium accepted 10 beluga whales as part of the mission to
rescue 30 of them and four dolphins at Marineland, a water park in
Ontario that closed its doors years ago and lost the ability to care for
the animals. The Chicago aquarium announced Tuesday it welcomed the last
two of those 10 — young males named Gimli and Yukon — from the Canadian
park.
Twenty whales — 19 belugas and one killer whale — had died at Marineland
since 2019, according to provincial government data obtained through
Freedom-of-Information laws and official statements.
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This photo provided by the Shedd Aquarium shows a beluga whale named
Rain swimming on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at the aquarium in Chicago.
(Heidi Zeiger/Shedd Aquarium via AP)
Officials at Shedd Aquarium previously told The Associated Press
that moving the beluga whales was a complex, meticulously monitored
process. The whales were hoisted in custom-made slings and held in
temperature-controlled containers. Since they arrived, their health
and behavior have been monitored on a minute-to-minute basis, they
said.
Canadian Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson said she was
“saddened” to hear of Rain's death. Canada's government “has taken
reasonable steps to ensure the safe rescue of the whales,” she said
in a statement to AP.
“My thoughts are with the care staff who worked tirelessly to
support Rain and the other belugas.”
Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld locations in San Diego and San Antonio,
and Oceanogràfic Valencia in Spain are also taking in the animals
rescued from Marineland.
The two beluga whales rehomed at Georgia Aquarium are “settling in
nicely,” although it will take months before they are fully
adjusted, the aquarium said in an email to AP. Most of the rescued
whales in SeaWorld's care are in stable condition, although a
handful are “eating less consistently than usual,” according to
AnneMarie Iturrizaga, a spokesperson for the company that owns
SeaWorld.
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