A fourth whale that was moved out of Marineland in July has died after struggling with its health after arriving at her new home in Chicago, Shedd Aquarium said Monday.
asserted
Aquarium → move → Chicago
The park said 26-year-old Osiris died Monday morning.
asserted
Osiris → say → ?
The female beluga was one of 10 that came to Shedd from Marineland, the shuttered tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont.
asserted
that → come → Falls
Marineland had said it was running out of money and could no longer care for its animals.
uncertain
it → say → animals
Over a series of moves beginning in July, Marineland moved 30 belugas and four dolphins to five aquariums abroad: Shedd in Chicago, SeaWorld locations in San Antonio and San Diego, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.
asserted
Marineland → begin → Spain
Osiris was “not a consistent eater” but had improved recently after receiving fluids and medication, Shedd said.
asserted
Shedd → improve → fluids
“Our care team observed sudden changes this morning in both Osiris’s behaviour and respiratory patterns,” Shedd said in a statement.
asserted
Shedd → observe → statement
“Respiratory rates are one of many measures we track closely and continuously, as changes can signal that an animal may need additional support.
uncertain
animal → track → support
The team moved Osiris to the medical habitat, so immediate care could be provided if needed.
uncertain
care → move → habitat
Her condition declined rapidly, and Osiris passed away despite lifesaving efforts by our veterinary and animal care teams.”
The park will conduct a necropsy to try to better understand what happened.
asserted
what → decline → necropsy
Two other Marineland whales, Rain and Peekachu, died at Shedd within weeks of the move.
asserted
whales → die → move
One longtime Shedd resident beluga, Beethoven, also recently died.
asserted
beluga → die → ?
All are being investigated, but the results have not yet returned, Shedd said.
asserted
Shedd → investigate → ?
Another Marineland beluga, Jelly Bean, died at Oceanografic last week.
asserted
beluga → die → Oceanografic
The whales were cleared by veterinarians at Marineland and the other parks to move and Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson also signed off on the relocation.
asserted
Thompson → clear → relocation
Last week, Shedd said it is concerned about the health of another recently moved whale, Secord.
asserted
it → say → whale
“Secord has not yet been consistently taking in the amount of food teams would like to see, even as they try different feeding approaches and offer different types of herring to gauge her preference,” Shedd said in a blog post last week.
asserted
Shedd → take → post
Marineland originally sought to move the whales to China after securing a deal to sell all 30 of its belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, which has a Guinness Book of World Record for the largest aquarium in the world.
asserted
which → seek → world
Thompson blocked that move, saying it was not in the best interest of the whales and inconsistent with a 2019 federal law.
asserted
it → block → law
That law banned whale and dolphin captivity, but grandfathered in Marineland’s whales.
asserted
law → ban → whales
It also banned breeding, which forced Marineland to separate its whales by sex.
asserted
which → ban → sex
And the law banned performances.
asserted
law → ban → performances
Marineland turned to an American-led consortium to house the world’s biggest pod of captive belugas, but they needed five aquariums to house them all.
asserted
they → turn → them
Marineland’s whales had struggled in recent years.
asserted
whales → struggle → years
Nineteen belugas and one killer whale died at the park between 2019 and 2025.
asserted
belugas → die → 2019
The park blames some of those deaths on the new federal laws.
asserted
park → blame → laws
Sources have said Marineland, which is about a kilometre from Horseshoe Falls, has been sold on the condition that all animals are gone.
asserted
animals → say → condition
Several hundred deer remain.
asserted
deer → remain → ?
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
The Aporia
