Four beluga whales have died in less than a month at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, including three that were recently transferred from a Canadian marine park.
Now, officials and advocates are questioning whether the transfer process, the aquarium and the Canadian marine park played a role in their deaths.
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Recent deaths
When Ontario’s Marineland Park closed in 2024, its whales remained at the facility until owners could find new homes for them. When the owner recently threatened to euthanize the remaining animals, Shedd Aquarium agreed to take 10 of the whales. They were transferred to Shedd in July, but just two months later, three of them have died.
Shedd confirmed the third death Monday, saying Osiris, a 26-year-old beluga, died but noted it’s unclear what contributed to her death.
“From the time she arrived, Osiris remained a whale of clinical concern for our veterinary and animal care teams,” Shedd wrote in a news release Monday. They said teams cared for Osiris since her arrival and began noticing signs of improvement in her eating habits and interactions with other whales.
On Monday, Shedd said she took a turn.
“The team moved Osiris to the medical habitat, so immediate care could be provided if needed,” Shedd said. “Her condition declined rapidly, and Osiris passed away despite lifesaving efforts by our veterinary and animal care teams.”
The aquarium said it would perform a full necropsy and share any updates on the whale’s cause of death.
Deaths outside of Shedd
Osiris’ passing comes after two other whales from the same Canadian facility, Peekachu and Rain, died within the past month.
Other whales from the Canadian facility have also died at other facilities, including one that was relocated to Spain.
“Each rescued beluga came to Shedd with a distinct life history and health needs that could not be fully understood before their arrival,” Shedd said in its news release. “The rescued belugas are still adjusting, and many continue to require close, individualized care.”
The aquarium went on to say, “When Shedd was asked to help with this rescue, we understood that these animals arrived with significant vulnerabilities and that the outcome for every individual could not be guaranteed.”
Dangers of the transfer processes
And while the whales likely arrived at the facilities with existing vulnerabilities, experts say the transfer process may also have contributed to the recent deaths.
Whale transfers are typically a months-long process that requires significant planning and preparation. According to National Geographic, whales swim onto stretchers that are custom-designed to the whale’s length and weight, with holes for their fins.
The slings are then placed into containers filled to about the middle of the whale’s head with water, which is kept around 55 degrees for the whale’s comfort. From there, the containers move from flatbed trucks to planes and ships for transport.
National Geographic says veterinarians accompany the whales to monitor their health as they travel. Upon arrival, whales are typically quarantined until it’s clear they don’t have any diseases that could spread to whales already at the facility.
The entire process, according to TreeHugger, causes the animals’ stress hormones to rise, weakening their immune system and putting them at risk of infections. TreeHugger also notes that mortality risk increases within the first week after transport, and typically lowers within 40 days.
Did something go wrong?
With the recent deaths, some have called into question the transfer process and whether it was done correctly.
Camille Labchuke, executive director of Animal Justice, told ABC7 there has been a lack of transparency since the transfers were announced.
“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 told the Chicago news outlet.
Meanwhile, Canadian officials defended the transfers to ABC7 in Chicago, saying, “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.”
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