Thirteen beluga whales from a pod of about 30 languishing in the shuttered Canadian marine park Marineland arrived in the U.S., six of them on July 21, and seven on August 3, as part of an emergency rescue of these captive cetaceans.The transfers come after nearly a year of jostling between the Canadian government and Marineland about the belugas’ future, amid threats of euthanasia and disagreements over where the cetaceans should be housed.Earlier this year, several U.S. aquariums drew up an emergency rescue plan to transfer these cetaceans to four U.S. facilities.Conservationists say the U.S. move leaves questions unanswered about the cetaceans’ future, including if they would be used for entertainment or bred in captivity — both outlawed in Canada since 2019.
Thirteen beluga whales, part of a pod of about 30 that were left languishing in a shuttered Canadian theme park, arrived in the U.S. The first transfer of six whales happened on July 21, and another seven were shipped out on August 3. These whales are part of the emergency transfers from Canada’s Marineland to their new homes in the U.S., marking the beginning of the end to a year-long saga of uncertainty.
Shipped in specialized, cold-water containers, the belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) traveled for hours, on trucks and a plane, to two U.S. facilities: nine individuals went to SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas, and four females to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in two batches.
