Deaths of rescued belugas at Chicago Shedd Aquarium raise questions about Marineland conditions
The death of a fourth beluga whale, the third rescued from Marineland in Canada, at the Shedd Aquarium over the weekend has raised questions about just how medically fragile they were when they arrived in Chicago.
Of the four beluga whales that have died in the past month, three were rescued from Marineland and one was a longtime member of the Shedd beluga pod.
Visitors leaving the Shedd said they didn't hear about the latest death, but animal advocates have.
"So the tragedy begins with the whole premise that these animals can survive and thrive in concrete tanks," said Dr. Lori Marino, president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. "That's really where we have to begin our conversation.
Animal advocates have been closely watching the transfer and outcomes of the whales that arrived from Marineland at all the facilities around the world, including the Shedd. They said it's hard to know what kind of shape they were in ahead of the cross-country travel.
"We know very, very little. We… there was no transparency when it came to the health status of those beluga whales at Marineland." Marino said.
In the June 25 letter to the American aquariums receiving the Marineland mammals, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acknowledged, "the whales are health-compromised" and without relocation Marineland would cease medical care "and instead will euthanize these animals,"
Osiris was one of the first four belugas transferred from Marineland to the Shedd on July 21. Another four followed on Aug. 13.
Shedd staff announced Peekachu, a whale from the second group, had died less than two weeks later on Aug. 26.
More belugas would arrive just one day before staff announced Rain, also from the second transfer group, had died. So had long-time resident beluga Beethoven.
Concerns grew for Osiris as the Shedd announced she was receiving special treatment for dehydration and an electrolyte imbalance on Aug. 14.
On Aug. 16, authorities in Spain announced one of their own rescued belugas, Jelly Bean, had died.
Then Shedd announced Osiris had died one week after her health concerns had been announced.
The staff have indicated there is more cause for concern, as they are closely monitoring another of the transferred whales. In a blog post, Shedd staff wrote, "Like Osiris last week, Secord has not yet been consistently taking in the amount of food teams would like to see" and added they are offering different feeding approaches, different types of herring, and different habitats.
The Shedd's veterinary and animal care teams also said they are performing necropsies, blood tests, and other medical exams on the deceased whales to determine cause of death. CBS News Chicago has asked for more information about those records.
In a statement sent to us after this story first aired, the Shedd wrote in part, "These losses do not get any easier, we are holding space to allow our teams to grieve and focus on the continued, constant care and careful monitoring of the rest of the beluga pod."
They said they will continue to share updates on the pod on their blog, and said there have been no changes for Secord's condition since their last update.
