Beluga whale deaths at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium provoke questions and concerns
After two more beluga whales died at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, including another whale rescued from defunct Canadian theme park Marineland, there are questions about what's behind the deaths.
The Shedd confirmed the deaths of 20-year-old Rain and 34-year-old Beethoven Wednesday night. Rain was one of the belugas rescued from Marineland and the second death from that rescued pod after 23-year-old Peekachu died last week.
Beethoven was a longtime resident in the Shedd's beluga pod, and was the oldest adult male in the pod. He was also the largest beluga at the Shedd, at approximately 14 feet long and 1,900 pounds.
Aquarium staff said it could take weeks for the necropsies on the whales to come back, and that it's too early to know if these three deaths were related or isolated. Officials said they are conducting evaluations to find out what happened as they await Peekachu's necropsy.
"These deaths were unexpected and there is still much we do not know about what led to them," officials said in a statement.
The Shedd also said their beluga care team is grieving the losses even as they continue to monitor the remaining whale pod around the clock.
The Shedd Aquarium accepted 10 beluga whales as part of a larger mission to rescue the pod at Marineland, which had closed its doors years ago and lost the funding needed to care for the animals. On Tuesday, the Shedd announced it had accepted the last two of those 10 rescued whales, young males named Gimli and Yukon.
Moving the beluga whales was a complex and highly monitored process. The whales were hoisted in custom-made slings and held in temperature-controlled containers. Since they arrived, their health and behavior have been monitored on a minute-to-minute basis, Shedd officials said.
Canadian Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson said she was "saddened" to hear of Rain's death. Canada's government "has taken reasonable steps to ensure the safe rescue of the whales," she said in a statement to the Associated Press. "My thoughts are with the care staff who worked tirelessly to support Rain and the other belugas."
