Another Marineland whale dies at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

Another whale shipped out of Marineland has died at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

The aquarium says Caspian, a 27-year-old female beluga, died on Wednesday despite efforts to save her.

It’s the sixth animal from the closed Niagara Falls, Ont., theme park to die after a massive relocation of whales and dolphins over the summer.

Four other belugas and one dolphin from Marineland have died since they were moved out of the former tourist attraction.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

Shedd says Caspian had not been eating properly and blood samples showed abnormalities in her electrolyte levels. The park added that her blood had become “dangerously acidic.”

The aquarium says those findings helped the veterinary care team understand how sick the beluga was, but they did not establish a cause of death.

Story continues below advertisement

Shedd says Caspian was on life support for nearly four hours before she died.

Shedd recently performed necropsies on Peekachu and Rain, two other Marineland whales that died there, and concluded that they had chronic, pre-existing diseases.

Shedd and four other aquariums in the United States and Spain helped Marineland relocate all 30 of its belugas and four dolphins over the course of six weeks this summer.

Marineland had said it was running out of money and could no longer care for the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada.

A beluga named Jelly Bean and a dolphin named Echo died at Oceanografic Valencia in Spain after the move.