Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-22 · by Liam Casey The Canadian Press
A 26-year-old female beluga whale named Osiris from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, died shortly after being relocated to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago as part of a major move involving 30 whales and four dolphins to various aquariums worldwide. This is the fourth death among the moved whales since July; two others had already passed away at Shedd, and one at Oceanografic in Spain. The deaths are under investigation with necropsies being conducted to understand their causes better.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Osiris, a 26-year-old female beluga whale from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, died on Monday morning at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Osiris was one of ten belugas moved from Marineland to Shedd over the summer as part of the largest collective move of captive whales involving 30 belugas and four dolphins relocated to five aquariums across the US and Spain between July and September 2024. Since then, four beluga whales have died after being transferred, with Osiris being the fourth death at Shedd Aquarium alone. Despite receiving intensive care, including fluids and medications upon arrival, Osiris struggled with her appetite and health, leading to sudden changes in behavior and respiratory patterns before her death. The cause of death is still under investigation, but preliminary necropsies suggest chronic inflammatory disease that likely began while the whales were at Marineland.
Written for “Marineland Beluga Deaths” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
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.
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Marineland → begin → Spain
Osiris was “not a consistent eater” but had improved recently after receiving fluids and medication, Shedd said.
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Shedd → improve → fluids
“Our care team observed sudden changes this morning in both Osiris’s behaviour and respiratory patterns,” Shedd said in a statement.
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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.
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what → decline → necropsy
Two other Marineland whales, Rain and Peekachu, died at Shedd within weeks of the move.
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whales → die → move
One longtime Shedd resident beluga, Beethoven, also recently died.
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beluga → die → ?
All are being investigated, but the results have not yet returned, Shedd said.
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Shedd → investigate → ?
Another Marineland beluga, Jelly Bean, died at Oceanografic last week.
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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.
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Thompson → clear → relocation
Last week, Shedd said it is concerned about the health of another recently moved whale, Secord.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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it → block → law
That law banned whale and dolphin captivity, but grandfathered in Marineland’s whales.
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law → ban → whales
It also banned breeding, which forced Marineland to separate its whales by sex.
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which → ban → sex
And the law banned performances.
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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.
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they → turn → them
Marineland’s whales had struggled in recent years.
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whales → struggle → years
Nineteen belugas and one killer whale died at the park between 2019 and 2025.
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belugas → die → 2019
The park blames some of those deaths on the new federal laws.
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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.
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animals → say → condition
Several hundred deer remain.
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deer → remain → ?
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
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