2 more beluga whales die at Chicago aquarium, including 1 recently rescued from Canada

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago announced on Wednesday that two more beluga whales have died at the facility, including a recently rescued whale from Canada. Rain, a 20-year-old female beluga, was the second of four whales to pass away after being moved to the aquarium in mid-August from a shuttered water park in Ontario. Peekachu, one of the deceased whales, had been struggling to recover from treatment efforts.

The third whale to die, a 34-year-old male named Beethoven, had been at the Shedd Aquarium for many years. The aquarium has not disclosed the cause of the whales' deaths, stating that necropsies and further examinations are being conducted. Shedd Aquarium had accepted a total of 10 beluga whales from Marineland, an Ontario water park that closed down and could no longer care for the animals.

The last two of these whales, young males Gimli and Yukon, were welcomed by the Chicago aquarium on Tuesday. Over the past seven years, 20 whales — including 19 belugas and one killer whale — have died at Marineland according to provincial government data. The Shedd Aquarium had assured that the process of moving the beluga whales was complex and closely monitored, with the animals being transported in custom-made slings and stored in temperature-controlled containers.

Their health and behavior have been continually monitored since their arrival at the Chicago facility.