Necropsies and blood tests underway for all three whales
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium announced Wednesday the deaths of two beluga whales, including a 20-year-old female rehomed weeks earlier from a shuttered Ontario water park. Rain was one of four whales transferred to Shedd in mid-August as part of an international effort to rescue Canada’s last captive whales, the aquarium said. A third whale from that same group, Peekachu, died the previous week as caretakers tried to revive it.
The other whale that died this week, Beethoven, was a 34-year-old male that had lived at Shedd Aquarium for decades, the aquarium said in its announcement. Three whales have died at the Chicago facility in recent weeks.
The aquarium did not identify a cause of death for any of the three whales. “Necropsies, blood tests and additional exams” of their bodies are in process, the aquarium said.
“These deaths were unexpected and there is still much we do not know about what led to them,” aquarium officials said in the statement.
The four whales transferred to Shedd in mid-August had previously lived at a shuttered Ontario water park, identified in coverage as Marineland. Their move was part of an international effort to rescue Canada’s last captive whales, the aquarium said.
Peekachu died last week as caretakers tried to revive the animal, according to the aquarium. The Wednesday announcement did not provide further details about the circumstances of that earlier death.