6 More Belugas Move from Marineland to U.S. Aquariums, Leaving Just 11 Whales at the Closed Canadian Park
6 More Belugas Move from Marineland to U.S. Aquariums, Leaving Just 11 Whales at the Closed Canadian Park
Moná ThomasFri, August 14, 2026 at 7:03 PM UTC
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A beluga whale is pictured as another whale is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026Credit: Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press via AP -
Six more beluga whales were transferred from Marineland in Ontario to aquariums in Chicago and Atlanta
Marineland, which closed in 2024, is rehoming its last captive whales and dolphins due to financial struggles and changes in legislation
The park plans to relocate all remaining whales and dolphins by the end of August 2026
Six more beluga whales have left the shuttered Marineland park in Ontario, Canada, bound for new homes in the United States. Officials for the transfer are calling it a “major milestone” in the largest collective move of captive whales ever attempted.
According to the Globe and Mail, a team of specialists guided six belugas into custom slings one by one and hoisted each into bright blue tanks on Wednesday, Aug. 12. The crew started with the males, lifting the first whale by crane around 3:30 p.m. before moving to a second pool for the females.
The operation paused in the evening as vets and whale specialists assessed a cut on the final beluga’s tail to determine whether she should be held back. She was then treated and cleared for travel, and her sling was padded with foam to keep her from flailing her tail.
A beluga whale is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026Credit: Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press via AP
A police-escorted convoy set off around 8:30 p.m. to drive the whales, two males named Zephyr and Balor, and four females named Caspian, Pikachu, Secord and Rain, to Toronto’s Pearson airport, where they were flown to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
Andrew Burns, Marineland’s adviser, said the series of moves has gone “exceptionally well.” He told the outlet, “All the animals are safely in their new homes, they’re all adjusting well, and everyone is just getting better and better, and the operation is getting smoother.”
The latest transfer brought the number of whales remaining at the park down to 11 from its original 30. “Two-thirds are going to be out and safely rehoused,” Burns said, calling it “a major milestone.” Three more moves are planned, he added, including a “middle of the night” flight to Spain for the dolphins and two belugas.
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Marineland closed to the public in 2024. The park previously said it could no longer afford to care for the whales. Before the transfers began last month, the park housed 30 belugas and four dolphins, notably the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada.
The first move, on July 20, sent six belugas to Shedd and SeaWorld in San Antonio; weeks later, another seven were transferred to the San Antonio attraction.
As PEOPLE previously reported, four of that first group, females Acadia, Osiris, Sierra and Lillooet, ranging in age from 21 to 27, arrived at Shedd in specialized cold-water containers, while males Bertie Botts and Frankie continued to SeaWorld San Antonio.
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The push to rehome the animals followed a turbulent stretch for Marineland. After Canada’s fisheries minister blocked a deal to sell all 30 belugas to an aquarium in China, deeming it not in the animals’ best interest, the park said it would euthanize the whales without emergency federal funding, a threat that made international headlines. Ottawa later approved a deal with a consortium of American and Spanish aquariums to orchestrate the moves now underway.
Marineland has said it hopes to have all the whales transferred by the end of August.
on People
Source: “AOL General News”
