Marine mammal care specialist Laura Brakhage, right, plays with a beluga whale named Beethoven at the Shedd Aquarium on Jan. 27, 2021. Beethoven, a 34-year-old male beluga, and 20-year-old female Rain died Sept. 2, 2026, at the aquarium. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)
Beethoven, a 34-year-old male beluga, and 20-year-old female Rain died Wednesday afternoon despite immediate efforts by animal care and veterinary teams to provide lifesaving measures, Shedd said in an emailed statement Wednesday night.
“Losing any animal is extraordinarily difficult,” Andrew Pulver, vice president of animal care at Shedd, said in a blog post on the aquarium’s website. “Losing Beethoven and Rain so soon after Peekachu carries a profound weight for the people who knew and cared for them.”
Rain arrived at Shedd in mid-August as part of the aquarium’s recent international rescue effort. She was one of 10 belugas brought to Shedd this summer from Marineland of Canada, a closed marine park in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The park’s owners threatened to euthanize 30 whales, according to a previous Shedd news release. Peekachu had also hailed from Marineland.
Beethoven was part of Shedd’s resident beluga pod. He was “deeply known” at Shedd, Pulver said in his blog post. He was the older adult male in the pod and the second-largest beluga at Shedd, at approximately 14 feet long and 1,900 pounds.
“Over more than three decades, generations of guests learned about belugas and wildlife through a connection with Beethoven,” Pulver wrote.
Of Rain, Pulver wrote: “(She) was only beginning her story here.”
“At this time,” Shedd said Wednesday, “it’s impossible to know if these passings are isolated or related.”
Shedd is among at least six aquariums, based in the United States and Spain, to rescue the 30 whales who formerly resided at Marineland. The process to rehome the whales took six weeks and precise coordination between the accepting facilities. At Shedd, the whales arrived by truck and a Boeing 777 airliner in three waves.
The first four belugas arrived at Shedd in mid-July. A second wave, which included Peekachu and Rain, arrived nearly a month later. Shedd announced that Peekachu died in the care of Shedd veterinarians Aug. 25. She was blind in one eye but had little trouble socializing, according to the aquarium.
Before the loss of Rain and Beethoven, Shedd had been housing 17 beluga whales in total, eight from the aquarium’s existing pod plus nine new arrivals. On Tuesday, Shedd officials stated that the last arrivals marked the beginning of a “much larger responsibility” of caring for the animals’ well-being.
Four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada swim close to one another in a habitat at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
A beluga whale named Gimli is transported from closed Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Aug. 31, 2026. Gimli was heading to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
A beluga whale named Yukon is transported from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Aug. 31, 2026, to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Trainer Taylor-Lee Dell says goodbye to beluga whale named Tofino, the last whale in captivity in Canada, before being transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling before being moved to an aquarium in the U.S., in the final transfer of whales out of the closed park, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Aug. 31, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
A beluga whale named Odin is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck before being moved to an aquarium in the U.S., in the final transfer of whales out of the closed park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Aug. 31, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Beluga whale Tofino is transported from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Aug. 31, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Trainer Taylor-Lee Dell, left, sheds a tear as beluga whale Tofino, the last whale in captivity in Canada, is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling before being moved to an aquarium in the U.S., in the final transfer of whales out of the closed park, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Aug. 31, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Beluga whale Orion is transported from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Aug. 31, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Peekachu, one of four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada, swims with other transferred whales in a habitat at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Three of four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada swim close to one another in a habitat at Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Visitors walk past a habitat closed off to the public where four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada are getting acclimated at Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Workers walk past a habitat closed off to the public where four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada are getting acclimated at Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Two of four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada swim in a habitat at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
A sign is posted informing visitors of four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada as they get acclimated in a habitat at Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
A beluga whale named Sierra is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and several U.S. aquariums onto a truck at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on July 20, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
A Beluga whale named Sierra splashes water out of the trailer while being transported by a group of experts from Marineland and several U.S. aquariums onto a truck at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on July 20, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
A convoy transports six beluga whales from Marineland as they head toward Toronto Pearson International Airport en route to U.S. aquariums, in Beamsville, Ontario, on July 20, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Beluga whale Sierra is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and several U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, July 20, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Signs are displayed on a tank for beluga whale Acadia to be transported by a group of experts from Marineland and several U.S. aquariums at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, July 20, 2026. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
Several beluga whales swim at the closed Arctic Cove exhibit at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada, on Nov. 13, 2025. (Daphné Lemelin/Getty-AFP)
A beluga whale surfaces from a tank to be fed by an employee at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, June 9, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Several beluga whales swim at the closed Arctic Cove exhibit at Marineland, in Niagara Falls, Canada, on Nov. 13, 2025. (Daphné Lemelin/Getty-AFP)
The closed Arctic Cove exhibit at Marineland, in Niagara Falls, Canada, on Nov. 13, 2025, where several beluga whales are being kept. (Daphné Lemelin/Getty-AFP)
Graffiti on a sidewalk in front of the closed Marineland park reads: "Let the belugas live," in Niagara Falls, Canada, on Nov, 13, 2025. (Daphné Lemelin/Getty-AFP)
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Four beluga whales relocated from a facility in Canada swim close to one another in a habitat at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium on July 23, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Losing Rain and Beethoven, the aquarium said, is 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, according to Shedd. Some answers may come quickly, officials say, while others may take more time.
“What remains clear is why the rescue was necessary: 30 belugas needed help and had nowhere else to go,” the aquarium stated. “Shedd and accredited partners were asked to step in. Helping these animals in need is part of Shedd’s responsibility, and our commitment to these whales and their second chance remains unchanged.”
Shedd said it will continue to “monitor, evaluate and care for the entire beluga population around the clock in the days and weeks that follow.”
baiduhai’s Finnegan Belleau and Allison Kiehl contributed.
