Unprecedented Beluga Rescue: Four Whales Relocated from Bankrupt Canadian Park to Chicago

Four female beluga whales have arrived at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium following a complex international relocation mission from the bankrupt Marineland of Niagara Falls in Canada. The whales, identified as Acadia, Lillooet, Osiris, and Sierra, were transported via road to Toronto Pearson Airport before being flown to Chicago on a chartered Boeing 777 freighter. The operation, described as unprecedented in scale, was coordinated with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the US Department of Agriculture to ensure compliance with international animal trade treaties.

The relocation follows the 2024 closure of Marineland, which went into bankruptcy after the death of its owners. With funds depleted, the park announced in 2025 that it would consider euthanasia if the animals could not be rehomed. The rescue effort involved extensive logistical planning, including the use of custom slings and water-filled containers to keep the whales comfortable during transit. Karina Tang, the Shedd Aquarium’s lead veterinarian, and Charlie Jacobsma, the director of animal behaviour and training, accompanied the animals throughout the journey to monitor their health and stress levels.

Upon arrival, the whales entered a quarantine period at the Shedd Aquarium, where staff report they are eating regularly and displaying normal behaviour. The facility, which already housed eight belugas, is currently keeping the new arrivals out of public view to aid their acclimatisation. Tang noted that the team is cautiously optimistic about the whales’ settlement, observing them foraging for fish and enrichment toys within their secluded habitat.

The mission highlights the limited options available for captive marine mammals, as Fisheries and Oceans Canada has stated the animals cannot survive in the wild. While the Shedd Aquarium has expressed openness to taking up to 10 more belugas from Marineland, which still holds dozens of stranded animals, other potential destinations include a consortium of aquariums in Georgia, San Diego, and Spain. Two additional belugas from the same flight were transported to an aquarium in San Antonio.

The relocation has drawn criticism from the Whale Sanctuary Project, a Canadian nonprofit that advocates for sea pen facilities rather than aquarium containment. The group has labelled the move a “so-called ‘rescue’ situation” and highlighted that a planned sea pen in Nova Scotia is not scheduled to open until 2027. Currently, the only existing sea pen in Iceland is not accepting new animals, leaving traditional aquariums as the primary alternative for rehoming stranded cetaceans.