4 Marineland belugas died after being transferred. Why the rest remain on 'death watch'

Over the summer, Marineland transferred all of its remaining captive whales to five destinations, after the federal government banned keeping captive whales in the country in 2019.

The once-loved and now-defunct Ontario theme park's remaining 30 belugas and four dolphins have been shipped to five different destinations across the U.S. and Spain, in the world's largest transfer of the animals.

However, four belugas have since died, the most recent death announced Monday at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, prompting questions about the whales' health and well-being.

Being transported is inherently very stressful for a beluga, said Naomi Rose, a marine mammal biology senior scientist at the Washington, D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute.

"Transporting them is a process that has been well established for decades," she said. "But what people have to understand is that to cetaceans, this process is very stressful."

• Another Marineland beluga has died after being moved to Chicago aquarium

• 'I tried to say goodbye and tried to tell him I love him': Canada's last captive whales leave Marineland

It's also important to understand that psychological stress is "absolutely related" to physiological stress, Valeria Vergara, a marine mammal senior scientist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation in Pender Island, B.C., told CBC News Network on Tuesday.

"Things like elevated stress hormones are known to suppress appetite," Vergara said.

Here's a look at what's been going on.

WATCH | Concerns over the death of another Marineland beluga:

CBC's Aarti Pole talks to Valeria Vergara about concerns over the recent death of a Marineland beluga.

2 hours ago|

Duration

7:36

4 recent beluga deaths raise questions

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium took in 10 beluga whales from the Niagara Falls-based park. Since then, three of them — Peekachu, Rain and, most recently, 26-year-old Osiris — have died, as has another whale, Beethoven, that was a longtime resident.

Peekachu died just over 10 days after arriving, on Aug. 25. Shedd said in a statement at the time that the beluga was dehydrated and wasn't eating well, dying suddenly as teams worked to provide medicine and fluids. Then, Rain died Sept. 2, which Shedd described as "unexpected."

Osiris had been struggling with her health and "was not a consistent eater," the aquarium said, as it announced her death Monday.

• Marineland beluga from Niagara Falls, Ont., dies at Spain aquarium, 3rd death after rescue transfer

All of the beluga's deaths are being investigated, but the results have not yet returned, Shedd said.

"When Shedd was asked to help with this rescue, we understood that these animals arrived with significant vulnerabilities and that the outcome for every individual could not be guaranteed," the aquarium said in an update on its website Monday.

"That uncertainty does not lessen the heartbreak of Osiris's loss, or our responsibility to examine it with scientific rigor and open-hearted transparency."

Another Marineland beluga, Jelly Bean, died at Oceanografic in Spain last week. She had been "experiencing feeding difficulties," the facility said.

Shedd has also said it's concerned about the health of another recently moved whale, Secord, writing on Sept. 18 that the animal "has not yet been consistently taking in the amount of food teams would like to see."

• Animal Justice urges investigation into Marineland beluga death in Chicago, wants relocation efforts halted

• Another beluga whale sent from Marineland to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has died

'In their minds, something is really, really wrong'

Vergara, the B.C. marine mammal scientist, says she's not surprised at the news of the whales' deaths. Belugas are long-living, extremely sociable and intelligent marine mammals who form long-term social bonds, she said.

"So, removing that mammal from an established social group and introducing it into an unfamiliar pod, into an unfamiliar pool with unfamiliar caretakers is probably a very significant source of psychological stress and pressure that would be very related to physiological manifestations."

In addition, transporting a beluga is another huge stressor, said Rose, with the Animal Welfare Institute, who was interviewed before Osiris's death was announced.

It involves putting the whale in a sling, then removing it from its tank with a crane. It is then put into a box that is partially filled with cold water.

Cetaceans — the group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises — are completely aquatic. They don't come ashore unless they're sick or dying, in a phenomenon known as stranding. Although filling the box partway is necessary to prevent aspiration, it also means the animal isn't fully buoyant, making it believe it is stranded, Rose said.

"So, in their minds, something is really, really wrong. .... They never really seem to get used to it."

Indeed, researchers have made similar findings. One 2012 study looked at the transport of seven belugas from Shedd to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, more than 1,000 kilometres away, where they stayed for about eight or nine months while Shedd underwent renovations.

• Another beluga whale sent from Marineland to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has died

The transported belugas showed an increase in epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol, which are hormones involved in the stress response. (The study noted that more research in the area was needed.)

As sad as the outcome has been, Vargas says she wasn't sure there was any other option, since Marineland couldn't care for the belugas and they couldn't be released into the wild after spending their lives in captivity.

"That would be like releasing your little chihuahua into the forest and saying, 'Go fend for yourself.'"

Rose, who is also on the board of the Whale Sanctuary Project, which is building a cetacean sanctuary in Nova Scotia, said her issue is not with how transports are done, aside from how noisy they can be, but that the whales are moved — and kept captive — at all.

"It is not something these animals are suited for. Period."

Previous deaths

Other relocated Marineland whales have died soon after being transported.

In 2021, Marineland moved five belugas to Mystic Aquarium. Two whales died within a year of the move, while a third died two years after the transfer. Similarly in those cases, there were conflicting explanations of the whales' health: Mystic said they had pre-existing conditions, while Marineland said they were healthy when they left.

WATCH | The 1st group of belugas to arrive in Chicago:

Marineland’s belugas arrive at Chicago aquarium

July 21|

Duration

0:58

In this case, the U.S. government approved the emergency rescue of most of the Marineland belugas in July, given the defunct park was no longer able to care for them.

Before the animals' transport began, Canada's fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, said she had taken reasonable steps to ensure their safety, including individual health assessments for each animal. After the recent deaths, her office has issued similar statements.

"The government of Canada has taken reasonable steps to ensure the safe rescue of the whales," she told CBC on Friday, after the death of Jelly Bean in a Spanish aquarium, "including issuing CITES permits following a review of the transportation plan and issuing Fisheries Act authorizations following individual health assessments for each whale."

"These animals are not healthy," said Rose. "I am telling you now, this isn't the end of it. I am predicting there will be more deaths."

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