What we know
What we know: Another beluga whale dies at Chicago aquarium after rescue mission from Canada park
Compiled Sep 22
What we know
- A third beluga, Osiris, died at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium after being rescued this summer from Marineland in Canada.
- Osiris was a 26-year-old female whale who died Monday.
- A fourth beluga, Jelly Bean, died at Oceanogràfic de València in Spain less than a week before Osiris' death.
- The rescue moved 30 whales from Marineland to aquariums in the U.S. and Spain after the Ontario park closed and could no longer care for them.
- The Shedd Aquarium took in 10 of the 30 belugas and four dolphins from Marineland.
- Twenty whales, 19 belugas and one killer whale, had died at Marineland since 2019, according to provincial government data.
- Peekachu and Rain, two other belugas, died at the Shedd in late August and early September after arriving from Canada.
What we don’t know yet
- The Shedd Aquarium said it will conduct necropsies into the whales and will share results when they are confirmed.
- The aquarium must formally submit names and causes of death within 30 days, and provide necropsy reports on request.
- Andrew Trites called it concerning but did not explain a confirmed cause for the deaths.
Open questions
- What caused Osiris' sudden decline and death?
- What will the necropsy results reveal about the cause of the beluga deaths?
- Why have four belugas died so soon after relocation despite health monitoring?
- Are the whales at Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld still stable, and will more health issues emerge?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.