Chicago – The Shedd Aquarium announced the death of Osiris, a 26‑year‑old beluga whale, on September 22. Osiris was part of a group of thirty whales moved from the now‑closed Marineland Park in Ontario, Canada. His death is the fourth beluga loss at the aquarium in under a month, raising concerns about the health of the transferred animals and the oversight of the relocation effort.

Background on the transfer

Marineland permanently closed to the public in 2024, but the whales remained on site until the park’s owner warned that the animals could be euthanized if new homes were not found. In July, Shedd Aquarium agreed to take ten of the whales, including Osiris, and began the complex relocation process.

Advocates question the process

Animal‑rights group Animal Justice, represented by executive director Camille Labchuke, criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the transfer. “We don’t know who approved these transfers, what the veterinary assessments said, whether the vets were sufficiently independent, and whether there was any prospect of preventing these deaths by giving them additional veterinary care before they were moved,” Labchuke said.

Labchuke also noted that since Canada banned the captivity and breeding of dolphins and whales in 2019, about twenty of the park’s fifty‑five whales have died, an “enormous number.”

Official response from Canada

A spokesperson for Canada’s minister of fisheries defended the operation, describing it as “a complex operation” and expressing sympathy for the staff who cared for Osiris and the other belugas. The minister remains confident that the transfer plan gives the whales their best chance of survival.

Shedd Aquarium’s position

Shedd Aquarium acknowledged the difficulty of caring for the newly arrived whales. In a statement the aquarium said, “From the outset, teams involved in this rescue understood that many of these whales arrived with complex health needs and that the path ahead would be difficult. The rescue offered urgently needed care and a path forward, but it could not guarantee every outcome. That does not make the loss any less painful.”

The aquarium also noted that not all recent beluga deaths involved transferred animals. Beethoven, a long‑time resident of Shedd, died earlier in September after decades at the facility.

Expert commentary

Dr. Lori Marino of the Whale Sanctuary Project suggested that the arrival of new whales could have added stress to the existing population. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Marino said. “All of a sudden everything changes. These new unfamiliar whales come in. Everything is mixed up and that’s stressful.”

Next steps

Officials are awaiting necropsy results to determine the precise causes of death. The findings will help inform future decisions about the care of large marine mammals in captivity and the protocols for emergency relocations.

International note

The recent losses are not limited to Chicago. A beluga death was also confirmed at an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, underscoring the broader challenges faced by facilities caring for these sensitive animals.

Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.