Six Marineland belugas now swimming in new U.S. homes

Six captive belugas from Canada are now swimming in the waters of their new homes in the United States.

Marineland and a consortium of U.S. aquariums helped move the first batch of whales in a long, complex process that began Monday afternoon at the former Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction.

Marineland has been closed to the public since 2024 as it looks to sell the park and its sprawling property a short distance from Horseshoe Falls. It has said it is running out of money and can no longer care for the whales.

The park had 30 belugas and four dolphins before Monday’s move. It is the largest complement of captive belugas in the world and also Canada’s last remaining captive whales and dolphins.

They are set to head, over multiple moves, to five marine parks: Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, SeaWorld San Antonio, another SeaWorld in San Diego, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

Four female belugas — Sierra, Acadia, Osiris and Lillooet — arrived at Shedd Aquarium’s waters in the wee hours Tuesday morning. Sierra was first lifted out of the Marineland pool shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Bertie Botts and Frankie, both males, were hoisted into their tanks by 8 p.m. before a large, police-escorted convoy drove several hours to Toronto Pearson International Airport where they were loaded on a large cargo jet.

Bertie Botts and Frankie remained on the plane while the others were dropped off in Chicago, before the pair headed off to their new home at SeaWorld in San Antonio. They ended up there later Tuesday morning.

Johnny Ford, a spokesperson for the U.S. consortium who works at Shedd, said the whales are doing well after the journey.

Marineland’s adviser, Andrew Burns, said the move went better than expected, with no major hiccups lifting the whales out of their pools and placing them in tanks on transport trucks, and no issues during the convoy ride to the airport.

“The risk is always how the whales react, but that can be moderated by the conduct of the team and because of their experience, because of their handling of the whales, it mitigated all that potential stress,” Burns said.

“And as a consequence of how they handled everything, like any kind of professional athlete, they make the incredible look simple.”

Last year, Marineland struck a deal with Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a massive aquarium in China that agreed to buy all 30 belugas.

But Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson blocked that move, saying it was not in the best interest of the whales and against the spirit of a 2019 federal law that banned whale and dolphin captivity, forbade breeding and banned performances.

In response, Marineland threatened to euthanize all the whales if it did not receive emergency funds from the federal government that created the situation.

The park later struck an Ottawa-approved deal with the consortium of U.S. and Spanish aquariums, which co-ordinated a plan to move the whales.

So far, Marineland has not received any federal money, but the Fisheries Department has not ruled that out entirely.

The park is hoping to have all the whales and dolphins gone by the end of August.

There are now 24 belugas and four dolphins remaining at Marineland.

By Liam Casey