4 Marineland belugas died after being transferred.
asserted
belugas → die → ?
Why the rest remain on 'death watch'
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rest → remain → watch
'These animals are not healthy,' scientist says
Over the summer, Marineland transferred all of its remaining captive whales to five destinations, after the federal government banned keeping captive whales in the country in 2019.
asserted
government → say → 2019
The once-loved and now-defunct Ontario theme park's remaining 30 belugas and four dolphins have been shipped to five different destinations across the U.S. and Spain, in the world's largest transfer of the animals.
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belugas → love → animals
However, four belugas have since died, the most recent death announced Monday at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, prompting questions about the whales' health and well-being.
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death → die → health
Being transported is inherently very stressful for a beluga, said Naomi Rose, a marine mammal biology senior scientist at the Washington, D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute.
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Rose → transport → Institute
"Transporting them is a process that has been well established for decades," she said.
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she → transport → decades
"But what people have to understand is that to cetaceans, this process is very stressful.
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process → understand → cetaceans
"
Another Marineland beluga has died after being moved to Chicago aquarium
'I tried to say goodbye and tried to tell him I love him':
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I → die → him
Canada's last captive whales leave Marineland
It's also important to understand that psychological stress is "absolutely related" to physiological stress, Valeria Vergara, a marine mammal senior scientist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation in Pender Island, B.C., told CBC News Network on Tuesday.
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Vergara → leave → Tuesday
"Things like elevated stress hormones are known to suppress appetite," Vergara said.
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Vergara → know → appetite
Here's a look at what's been going on.
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what → go → ?
4 recent beluga deaths raise questions
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium took in 10 beluga whales from the Niagara Falls-based park.
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Aquarium → raise → park
Since then, three of them — Peekachu, Rain and, most recently, 26-year-old Osiris — have died, as has another whale, Beethoven, that was a longtime resident.
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that → die → them
Peekachu died just over 10 days after arriving, on Aug. 25.
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Peekachu → die → Aug.
Shedd said in a statement at the time that the beluga was dehydrated and wasn't eating well, dying suddenly as teams worked to provide medicine and fluids.
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teams → say → medicine
Then, Rain died Sept. 2, which Shedd described as "unexpected."
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Shedd → die → which
Osiris had been struggling with her health and "was not a consistent eater," the aquarium said, as it announced her death Monday.
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it → struggle → death
All of the beluga's deaths are being investigated, but the results have not yet returned, Shedd said.
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Shedd → investigate → deaths
"When Shedd was asked to help with this rescue, we understood that these animals arrived with significant vulnerabilities and that the outcome for every individual could not be guaranteed," the aquarium said in an update on its website Monday.
uncertain
aquarium → ask → website
"That uncertainty does not lessen the heartbreak of Osiris's loss, or our responsibility to examine it with scientific rigor and open-hearted transparency."
Another Marineland beluga, Jelly Bean, died at Oceanografic in Spain last week.
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beluga → lessen → Spain
had been "experiencing feeding difficulties," the facility said.
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facility → experience → difficulties
Shedd has also said it's concerned about the health of another recently moved whale, Secord, writing on Sept. 18 that the animal "has not yet been consistently taking in the amount of food teams would like to see."
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teams → say → food
Animal Justice urges investigation into Marineland beluga death in Chicago, wants relocation efforts halted
Another beluga whale sent from Marineland to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has died
'
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whale → urge → Aquarium
In their minds, something is really, really wrong'
Vergara, the B.C. marine mammal scientist, says she's not surprised at the news of the whales' deaths.
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she → say → deaths
Belugas are long-living, extremely sociable and intelligent marine mammals who form long-term social bonds, she said.
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she → live → bonds
"So, removing that mammal from an established social group and introducing it into an unfamiliar pod, into an unfamiliar pool with unfamiliar caretakers is probably a very significant source of psychological stress and pressure that would be very related to physiological manifestations.
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that → remove → manifestations
"
In addition, transporting a beluga is another huge stressor, said Rose, with the Animal Welfare Institute, who was interviewed before Osiris's death was announced.
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death → transport → Institute
It involves putting the whale in a sling, then removing it from its tank with a crane.
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It → involve → crane
It is then put into a box that is partially filled with cold water.
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that → put → water
Cetaceans — the group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises — are completely aquatic.
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that → include → whales
They don't come ashore unless they're sick or dying, in a phenomenon known as stranding.
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they → come → stranding
Although filling the box partway is necessary to prevent aspiration, it also means the animal isn't fully buoyant, making it believe it is stranded, Rose said.
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Rose → fill → aspiration
They never really seem to get used to it."
Indeed, researchers have made similar findings.
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researchers → seem → findings
One 2012 study looked at the transport of seven belugas from Shedd to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, more than 1,000 kilometres away, where they stayed for about eight or nine months while Shedd underwent renovations.
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Shedd → look → renovations
The transported belugas showed an increase in epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol, which are hormones involved in the stress response.
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which → transport → response
(The study noted that more research in the area was needed.)
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research → note → area
As sad as the outcome has been, Vargas says she wasn't sure there was any other option, since Marineland couldn't care for the belugas and they couldn't be released into the wild after spending their lives in captivity.
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they → say → captivity
"That would be like releasing your little chihuahua into the forest and saying, 'Go fend for yourself.'"
Rose, who is also on the board of the Whale Sanctuary Project, which is building a cetacean sanctuary in Nova Scotia, said her issue is not with how transports are done, aside from how noisy they can be, but that the whales are moved — and kept captive — at all.
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whales → release → Scotia
"It is not something these animals are suited for.
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animals → suit → ?
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
