Beluga whale dies in Chicago shortly after transit from Canada

A female beluga whale, Peekachu, died Tuesday evening, less than two weeks after arriving at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago from the shuttered Canadian Marineland.

Caretakers were attempting to give 23-year-old Peekachu medicine and food after noticing she was severely dehydrated, when she died suddenly, Shedd announced Wednesday. Peekachu received around-the-clock observation from the moment of her arrival, and the team took blood samples on Tuesday after she’d failed to consistently finish her diet.

The closed Canadian aquarium in Niagara Falls, Ontario, sent eight of its 30 beluga whales to Shedd, after a deal to sell all of the whales and four dolphins to an aquarium in China fell through. From the outset, the Chicago team knew such a large-scale rescue came with uncertainty, Shedd shared. Each of the eight whales Shedd rescued arrived with individual health needs, the aquarium said, adding that despite knowing a loss was a possibility, the team had hoped for more time with Peekachu and grieved her death. A necropsy had been completed and additional testing to gain complete information was underway, the team reported.

Peekachu arrived at Shedd in a pod of eight other female belugas, and was one of the smaller whales in the group, Shedd said in an article. She was blind in one eye, but that proved no limitation to her, as she had little trouble socializing and navigating her new home, Shedd shared. The aquarium emphasized that rescue was a step-by-step, day-by-day process. The team remained guarded but hopeful about the conditions of the rest of the whales as they continued monitoring them around the clock.

Marineland’s other belugas have been shipped to SeaWorlds in San Diego and San Antonio, and to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, The Canadian Press reported. The Ontario park was put up for sale two years ago following scrutiny of its treatment of animals and a 2019 Canada law that forbade whale and dolphin captivity, breeding, and performances. One killer whale, 19 belugas, and one dolphin died at the Canadian park in 2019, the Press added. Shedd was determined to maintain an environment that provided the highest standard of care and wellbeing helped the belugas thrive for the rest of their lives, the aquarium shared.