Shedd Aquarium: 2 More Beluga Whales Die, Including One From Rescue Effort

Two beluga whales died at Shedd Aquarium this week despite what the aquarium described as immediate efforts by its animal care and veterinary teams to save them. The deaths are the second and third beluga deaths at the Chicago institution in about two weeks.

The aquarium said Rain, a 20 year old female, arrived in mid August as part of an international effort to rescue belugas from a marine park in Canada that had sat closed and nonoperational for nearly two years. Beethoven, a 34 year old male, had lived at Shedd for years as part of the aquarium's resident beluga pod. Shedd did not say whether the two deaths this week are connected, or connected to the death of a third whale, a rescued beluga named Peekachu, who died suddenly about a week earlier after being moved.

"At this time, it's impossible to know if these passings are isolated or related," the aquarium said in a statement.

The deaths come during an ongoing relocation effort that has brought dozens of belugas out of the shuttered Canadian park. Shedd is helping re-home 30 of the animals, with the final group of nine whales arriving in Chicago earlier this week. Two of those nine arrived early Tuesday morning, and the aquarium's animal care team had been monitoring all of the newly arrived whales around the clock. Other whales from the same rescue effort are headed to aquariums in Atlanta, San Antonio and San Diego, as well as a marine park in Spain.

Beluga whales can grow to 15 feet long and weigh as much as 3,300 pounds. They are native to Arctic and sub-Arctic waters and are typically found in pods that stick close to sea ice and coastal areas. The animals involved in this relocation had spent years in a facility that stopped operating roughly two years before the transfers began.

Shedd has not released additional detail on the causes of death for Rain, Beethoven or Peekachu, and has not said whether any of the remaining rescued whales are showing signs of illness or distress. The aquarium's statement focused on the fact that its veterinary staff attempted lifesaving intervention on both Rain and Beethoven before they died.

The deaths occurred in the middle of a rescue operation involving multiple aquariums, prompted by the Canadian park's closure and the uncertain future for the belugas that remained there. Chicago has been one of the main destinations for the relocated animals, with multiple groups arriving over several weeks this summer before the final transfer this week.

Shedd has not announced any pause in the broader relocation effort or in its acceptance of additional whales tied to the closed Canadian facility. The aquarium has not said whether it plans an independent review of the deaths or whether findings will be shared publicly. Its veterinary team continues to monitor the whales that arrived as part of the rescue, including the group that arrived in Chicago days before Rain and Beethoven died.