Marineland belugas that died in Chicago had chronic disease, aquarium says

Two Marineland whales that died weeks after being relocated to a Chicago facility had chronic, pre-existing diseases, Shedd Aquarium said Friday. park, however, stopped short of saying that was the cause of death for Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga, and Rain, a 20-year-old female beluga. There is no evidence of any infectious disease, Shedd added.

Shedd, along with four other aquariums, helped Marineland move all 30 of its belugas and four dolphins out of the closed Niagara Falls, Ont., theme park over the course of six weeks this summer. They were the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada. Marineland had said it was running out of money and could no longer care for its whales.

Four belugas and one dolphin have died since being moved. Shedd recently performed necropsies on Peekachu and Rain as well as Beethoven, a 34-year-old beluga that had lived at the aquarium for decades and died of an age-related illness the same day as Rain. The necropsies found the Marineland whales had “chronic inflammatory disease within their gastrointestinal systems,” Shedd said in a lengthy statement.

“The inflammation was found to be significant in Peekachu and severe in Rain,” it said. “The significance of the inflammation, the types of immune cells present and the changes to the mucosa, the inner lining of the intestines, and the structure of the affected tissue all indicate that the disease had likely been present for an extended period,” the statement said. “These changes develop over time, potentially months or years, indicating that the disease began before the whales arrived at Shedd and compromised their health rendering them more vulnerable and sensitive.” The aquarium also said it found “bird feathers, sticks and large, porous rocks” inside Peekachu’s stomach and “small flecks of material that may be paint” in Rain’s stomach.

Shedd said it does not believe those foreign objects contributed to their deaths. Marineland also agreed that was not the cause of death. “Belugas are naturally curious animals that investigate and occasionally swallow objects in their environment, both in human care and in the wild, just like the family dog does from time to time,” Marineland said in a statement.

Veterinarians from Marineland, Shedd, SeaWorld and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain visited Marineland for extensive periods to examine the whales and dolphins. TORONTO - Two Marineland whales that died weeks after being relocated to a Chicago facility had chronic, pre-existing diseases, Shedd Aquarium said Friday.