Six beluga deaths cast a shadow over rescue from Canada’s Marineland

Six members of a pod of 30 belugas, a fifth of the whales that were transferred from a marine park in Canada to facilities in the U.S. and Spain as part of a massive rescue operation, have died in the last two months. They were transported to the facilities in July and August after languishing for more than a year at the Marineland theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which closed to the public in 2025.

These cetaceans were among the last to be held captive in Canada, after the country passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act in 2019. The law banned the keeping, breeding, and trading of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) for entertainment, affecting Marineland’s business model.

After months of uncertainty over the animals’ future — including threats of euthanasia and an attempt to send them to an entertainment park in China — a consortium of aquariums under the U.S. Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) devised the plan to transfer the 30 Marineland belugas. Sixteen went to SeaWorld facilities in California and Texas, 10 to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, two to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and two to Oceanogràfic València in Spain, which also took in four bottlenose dolphins.

On Aug. 26, Shedd Aquarium announced that Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) who had arrived at the facility on Aug. 13 and was blind in one eye, had “passed away suddenly” the day before. The following week, on Sept. 3, a 20-year-old female named Rain who had arrived at Shedd Aquarium along with Peekachu also died.

An initial report found “chronic inflammatory disease” in both whales, with foreign objects such as bird feathers, sticks, and large rocks inside Peekachu. A detailed final report, announced by Shedd on Oct. 9, said Peekachu’s examination “identified age-related tissue changes, preexisting hypertension … and lung scarring consistent with an earlier injury or resolved pneumonia,” while Rain had “substantial inflammation” throughout her body. It also said that external experts concluded “underlying diseases may have made both whales more susceptible to cardiovascular stress, which contributed to their deaths.”

On Sept. 18, Canadian state broadcaster CBC reported that Jellybean, a 19-year-old female transferred to Oceanogràfic València in Spain, had died. The facility has not announced a cause of death. On Sept. 24, it announced the death of Echo, one of the bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) from Marineland, who had arrived with “serious vision problems.” It said her condition had deteriorated rapidly, and that she’d had “difficulties swallowing and respiratory problems.”

On Sept. 21 Shedd Aquarium announced the death of Osiris, a 25-year-old female beluga who had “remained a whale of clinical concern” since she’d arrived, despite recent “encouraging signs” in her health, according to the announcement. A preliminary examination revealed she had chronic liver disease, the facility said on Oct. 9.

The latest death from the aquarium was that of Caspian, a 27-year-old female, who died Oct. 7. The beluga had “continued to eat less than her full diet” in recent days, and “her condition deteriorated.” Despite being placed on life support, she did not recover, according to a statement from the facility.

On Oct. 18, SeaWorld San Diego announced the death of Cyprus, a nine-year-old male who came to the facility on Aug. 22, 2026. Although he had been eating well since his arrival and adjusting to his new home, he stopped eating two days before his death, the facility said. An ultrasound examination showed his intestinal tract wasn’t working well, and indicated a “life-threatening condition”.

Unsurprising deaths

Naomi Rose, a marine mammal biologist with U.S.-based animal rights NGO Animal Welfare Institute, who has followed the plight of the captive belugas for years, said the deaths came as no surprise.

“Everybody involved in this, including the facilities that were receiving them, including the governments, and Marineland itself, as well as rational people in the animal community, were perfectly well aware that there were going to be some deaths,” she said in an interview with Mongabay. “These whales weren’t well. Their health was suffering from the care — such as it was — that they were receiving at Marineland.”

In the wild, belugas can live up to 80 years. But in captivity, they live less than 30 years on average. Those in Marineland had spent years confined to small, concrete tanks — an environment vastly different from their natural ocean habitat — with persistent water quality issues. For highly intelligent, social cetaceans, such isolation often results in extreme stress, stereotypy (which can include repetitive behaviors and ingesting foreign objects), and metabolic diseases, Rose said.

“I am not blaming the rescuers for the deaths of these animals. They’ve done the best they could. These deaths were inevitable, and there will be more deaths,” Rose said. “Transporting sick animals is dangerous. Leaving them where they were was more dangerous. This was the best of a bad job.” Rose is a founding board member of the under-construction Whale Sanctuary Project, which had offered to take some of the belugas. Marineland declined the offer.

Melissa Matlow from World Animal Protection Canada, an animal welfare nonprofit, said in an email statement to Mongabay that the spate of deaths “raises more concern that the remaining beluga whales are also suffering from poor health” and “reinforces why keeping whales and dolphins in captivity for entertainment purposes must be phased out globally.”

Updates on the survivors

In an email response to Mongabay’s questions about the health of the 15 belugas under SeaWorld’s care, the company’s chief zoological officer, Chris Dold, said the whales “continue to be in stable health” and that the team is “closely monitoring the whales’ health and behavior, including their eating, swimming, and socialization patterns” as they adjust to their new homes. “These early signs are encouraging, but it would be premature to say these belugas are fully in the clear,” he said.

On Sept. 14., SeaWorld shared a video showing the last four belugas to arrive at the San Antonio facility — Tofino, Tank, Odin, and Orion — and a trainer saying the whales were exploring their new home, getting to know their trainers, and eating well. In the post announcing Cyprus’ death, SeaWorld said the whales will need “a considerable amount of time” to adjust to new surroundings.

A spokesperson from Georgia Aquarium said the two male belugas in its care, Balor and Zephyr, were “adjusting well.”

“It will take several months to over a year for them to fully acclimate, so we are continuously monitoring them,” a spokesperson told Mongabay in an email statement. “They are both eating, interacting with their trainers, and have integrated into our existing beluga whale pod and are showing positive signs with their behavior and health.”

The spokesperson also said the animals have access to all beluga enclosures, including public areas, and can choose where they want to go. “As of right now and for the foreseeable future, they are not involved in any beluga encounters,” the spokesperson said. Paying visitors can interact with the whales as part of Georgia Aquarium’s Beluga Encounter, priced from $89.99.

Johnny Ford, Shedd Aquarium’s vice president of communications, said the facility regularly shares updates on the rescued belugas. According to a recent update, the six surviving whales are eating their full diets and “reaching new milestones in their care.”

“With each examination, it is becoming unquestionably clear that the rescued whales we lost were made vulnerable by chronic and severe illness,” Ford said in an email statement to Mongabay. “A lot of what we are uncovering is invisible day-to-day, especially given how well belugas are able to mask their discomfort.”

Oceanogràfic València did not respond to Mongabay’s queries. On Oct. 7, it shared on Facebook that Cleopatra, the surviving rescued beluga, “has been gradually getting used to a new environment” and is swimming with two other belugas, “participating with them in feeding and enrichment sessions.”

As these belugas adjust to their new homes, conservationists say they should not be bred. The agreement signed between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. facilities does not restrict breeding them. Previously, these facilities have said breeding is not their priority, and their focus is the well-being of the rescued belugas. However, they have not categorically committed to not breeding the belugas.

“While this was the last generation of whales and dolphins that ever had to suffer for entertainment in Canada — we must make sure it is the last to suffer in the US and globally,” Matlow said. “We urge the AZA aquariums to not breed them or use them for entertainment in keeping with Canadian law.”

Marineland a wake-up call for ending cetacean captivity, activists say

The belugas and dolphins at Marineland may have found new homes at what Rose called “the four best beluga facilities in the world,” but the only way to avoid repeating the Marineland saga is to stop keeping and breeding these animals in captivity, she said.

As public backlash against keeping cetaceans in captivity grows, some countries have passed laws restricting the import of wild whales or banning keeping them altogether. A few, like France, have decided to get rid of all current captive cetaceans, moving them to new homes. But these are hard to find, according to Rose. In June, France announced that a mother-and-son orca duo (Orcinus orca) at another shuttered park, Marineland Antibes (not related to Marineland Canada), would be sent to a park in Spain. But so far, Spain hasn’t issued permits for these transfers, and the orcas remain at the closed park.

“This is so archaic. Circuses are going out of business, left, right, and center. Who thinks it’s cool to make tigers jump through flaming hoops anymore? Why is it still OK to have dolphins do these silly tricks?” Rose said. “They are not commodities. They are not to be bought and sold. They are not to be held for our entertainment. They are wildlife species that have a very large function in their ecosystems, and they should be left there.”

Banner image: A pod of 30 belugas was transferred from the shuttered park Marineland to various facilities as part of an unprecedented two-month-long rescue. Image © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.

Spoorthy Raman is a staff writer at Mongabay, covering all things wild with a special focus on lesser-known wildlife, the wildlife trade, and environmental crime.

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