Necropsy reports show rescued belugas at Shedd Aquarium had suffered organ damage

Necropsy reports this week specified the causes of death for two beluga whales at Shedd Aquarium after they were rescued from Canada.

The necropsy reports indicated that both Osiris, a 26-year-old female, and Caspian, a 27-year-old female, died from heart and liver complications.

The aquarium said there was no way to know about the chronic conditions before the whales were rescued from the shuttered Marineland theme park in Canada. But Shedd said the conditions made it difficult or the whales to thrive.

The whales also had depleted fat reserves and muscle loss.

A total of 10 belugas from Marineland were brought to the Shedd Aquarium in July and August. Four of them have since died, including Rain and Peekachu in addition to Caspian and Osiris.

The Shedd also took in six other whales, which are continuing to make progress.

A fifth beluga at Shedd, longtime Shedd resident Beethoven, who was not rescued from Marineland, also died in September.

Animal advocates have closely watched the transfer and outcomes of the whales that arrived from Marineland at all the facilities around the world, including the Shedd. They said it was hard to know what kind of shape they were in ahead of the cross-country travel.

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."

Caspian had been among the belugas "of greatest clinical concern" since she arrived at the Shedd Aquarium in August. She died in October.

Concerns grew for Osiris as the Shedd announced she was receiving special treatment for dehydration and an electrolyte imbalance on Aug. 14.