Shedd Aquarium plans to bring up to 10 beluga whales to Chicago in the next few weeks as part of a rescue operation that will remove 30 belugas from a closed marine park in Canada.
According to a Shedd news release, the current caretakers of Marineland of Canada, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, threatened to euthanize the whales.
Johnny Ford, vice president of communications at Shedd Aquarium, said much of the rescue is still subject to change depending on factors such as the whales’ health.
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“There’s still a lot we don’t know about the belugas, even having done a couple of personal visits to the facilities,” Ford said. “There’s still question marks that we have about their medical history, about their condition.”
Shedd, which is currently home to eight belugas, has partnered with four other facilities, including the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego and Oceanografic Valencia in Valencia, Spain.
The aquarium declined to make experts available to discuss the beluga whales at this time, citing preparations for the transfer. On the aquarium’s website, Karisa Tang, vice president of animal health, said an international rescue at this scale has never been done before.
Researchers and government officials said the transfer is necessary to ensure the safety of the whales. While agreeing that moving the whales out of Canada is a positive development, some marine advocates said the U.S. facilities still aren’t ideal for belugas.
These whales are found globally in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Many are near Alaska.
Some beluga populations are listed as endangered or depleted. Weighing an average of 3,150 pounds, the whales have been hunted for subsistence, commerce and sport.
How are whales moved?
Although not taking any whales in the upcoming transfers, Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, is lending expertise to the operation. The facility received five beluga whales from Marineland of Canada in 2021.
“It’s not done lightly,” Allison Tuttle, the aquarium’s chief zoological officer, said. “It’s done in a serious fashion with every detail buttoned up so that it goes smoothly. The animals come first in all situations.”
There are extensive veterinary exams before a whale goes anywhere, Tuttle said. If there are any red flags, and it would be more harmful to move the animals than keep them where they are, they don’t move, she added.
After preparation by veterinarians — and many other support staff, including trainers, behaviorists and truck drivers — the whale is loaded into a transport unit using a stretcher that acts “kind of like a seat belt” for the whales, said Laurie Macha, senior director of marine mammals and birds at Mystic Aquarium.
Police then accompany the truck to an airport, where the whale is loaded onto a plane. Often, the animals are conscious the whole time.
Veterinarians accompany marine animals during these moves. A large part of their role is being prepared in case something goes wrong. Macha said they carry ice if the water temperature needs to be adjusted, and they also bring a mask and repair kit to fix leaks in the lining.
“It’s preplanned and predrilled so everyone understands their defined role and everyone understands what all the contingencies are,” Tuttle said.
Once the plane touches down, whales are transported to the new facility via truck.
‘More concrete tanks’
Lori Marino is founder and president of The Whale Sanctuary Project, an organization creating a sanctuary for whales off Canada’s east coast. It’s planned to be a netted-off area in the ocean with 100 acres of water space and depths of over 52 feet, she said.
Marino said The Whale Sanctuary Project contacted Marineland of Canada, offering to come in and assist the animals — maybe even take some to the Canadian sanctuary when it is finished.
“It was clear from the beginning that there was very little interest on the part of the current owner to really, you know, do anything but make sure that they recoup money for the animals,” she said. “We could not buy and would not buy animals.”
According to an April report by Canada’s CBC News, the former owner of Marineland died in 2024, and the facility was placed in a trust. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the trust were unsuccessful.
Ford said the aquarium financed part of the rescue but did not pay Marineland.
Marino views Marineland of Canada as “rock bottom” for whales, and she sees the transfer as a somewhat positive development. However, she said she still has issues with their potential new homes. The limited nature of the aquariums’ beluga habitats affects the whales both physically and mentally, with one of the main problems being boredom, said Marino, who is also a neuroscientist.
A July 8 post on The Whale Sanctuary Project’s website noted the deaths of three of the five belugas Mystic Aquarium received from Marineland of Canada following the 2021 transfer. A representative for Mystic Aquarium wrote to the Tribune in an email that the deaths were due to preexisting conditions undetectable in live animals.
“While from an incremental point of view, sure, it’s better to be at Shedd or SeaWorld than at a place like Marineland with very poor welfare, it’s still not what we would want for animals who have been confined their whole lives just to entertain people,” Marino said.
“Unfortunately, they’re all going to more concrete tanks,” she said.
In response to criticism about Shedd’s facilities not being large enough for beluga whales, Ford pointed to the facility’s accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, whose standards are “remarkably, remarkably high.”
He also said the beluga facilities were built to hold “far more” animals than it currently has, and these facilities could probably house even more after the transfer of all 10 belugas.
What’s next for Shedd?
When it comes to the 10 whales potentially moving to Shedd Aquarium, a lot is uncertain. First off, there might not actually be 10. Ford said each whale must be cleared for travel by a Canadian-accredited veterinarian.
So, depending on the belugas’ health and other factors, it’s possible less than 10 will make it to Chicago. Getting all of them is the hope, Ford said. A lot of information is up in the air, though.
Changing schedules are also part of the reason there’s not a set timeline for travel yet. Rescue plans are expected to begin within the next few weeks, according to the Shedd news release.
Ford said when and if the whales do get to Chicago, the public won’t be able to see them right away. They’ll spend time adjusting in a behind-the-scenes quarantine space. During this period, experts will monitor the whales’ health and watch how they adapt to the new environment.
The eight belugas already at Shedd are often a visitor favorite. Last week, a crowd of more than 20 people assembled in the dimly lit viewing area to watch the whales.
From an underwater viewing area, Chinita Head, 52, stared past the glass alongside her 6-year-old nephew, Christian Walker.
The beluga came from below and passed in one swooping motion, twisting to display its chest to onlookers.
Visiting from Georgia, it was Christian’s first time at Shedd Aquarium. His aunt brought him specifically to see the belugas.
“I love ’em. That’s my favorite exhibit,” Head said. “It’s just a different kind of whale.”