The last of 30 belugas and four dolphins has left Marineland, the shuttered sea park near Niagara Falls in Canada. A crane lifted the more than 1,500kg beluga Tofino into a lorry, which carried him to his new home at SeaWorld San Antonio in the United States. The move ended one of the largest transfers of captive whales on record, but several animals have since died and the long-term outlook for the group remains unclear.
Marineland had sought a new home for its whales, but the Canadian government rejected a plan to sell them to China over animal welfare concerns. The park’s operators said the animals would otherwise have to be euthanised. That prompted a rescue effort involving several aquariums, which took the whales to new facilities this summer.
The rescue flights and Canada’s captivity ban
Photographer Carlos Osorio documented the transfers, which saw whales flown to Chicago, Atlanta, San Diego, San Antonio and Valencia in Spain. He said he watched drone footage of Tofino appearing to say his own goodbyes. Tofino was the last captive whale in Canada, a country that banned cetacean captivity and breeding seven years ago.
Osorio described the moment with weight. “This is the last one to happen, and it’s never going to happen again,” he said.
Despite the rescue, a number of animals have died since the transfers. Five of the belugas have since died, along with one dolphin, according to the reporting.
Deaths and health findings at receiving aquariums
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has recorded the most deaths. Peekachu, Rain, Orisis and Caspian were all transferred from Marineland, while Beethoven, a longtime Shedd resident, also died after eight Marineland belugas were brought to the aquarium over the summer.
Necropsies on Peekachu and Rain found chronic inflammatory disease in their gastrointestinal systems. Foreign objects, including feathers, large rocks and flecks that appear to be paint, were also found in their stomachs. Shedd believes these were swallowed before the whales were moved to Chicago. A preliminary examination of Orisis identified chronic liver disease.
Oceanogràfic València, Europe’s largest aquarium, reported the death of one beluga, Jelly Bean, and one dolphin, Echo. The aquarium said the dolphin arrived with “serious vision problems” and other health issues, and that in the hours before she died she “began having difficulties swallowing and respiratory problems”.
Experts say it is too early to judge the outcome of the transfers. They note that the whales faced euthanasia and had been living in an ageing facility. According to one tally, about 20 whales died at Marineland between 2019 and September 2025.
Shedd said in early October that it knew some of the Marineland belugas “could have substantial, longstanding medical needs”. It said pre-move assessments “could not reveal every underlying condition or predict how each whale would respond to the transition”. The aquarium added that the remaining rescued belugas were showing positive signs, including eating well.
Sanctuary options and the debate over captivity
Marineland, once Canada’s most popular amusement park, closed in 2024 after years of animal welfare concerns and financial problems, and following the death of its longtime owner. Public attitudes towards keeping whales in captivity have shifted considerably since the park opened in 1961. More countries, including France and Mexico, are moving to ban or restrict the practice.
Melissa Matlow, a spokeswoman for World Animal Protection Canada, said there are about 3,600 captive cetaceans worldwide, a group of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. She said there are few options for whales raised in captivity who lack the skills to survive in the wild, and described a “growing animal welfare crisis on our hands”. Her organisation nonetheless raised concerns about the relocation, saying that “if an animal was not healthy enough to withstand the stress of transport, it should not have been transported”.
World Animal Protection Canada had proposed two alternatives: converting Marineland into a hospice-style facility for the remaining captive animals, or fast-tracking the proposed Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist behind the seaside project, said the whales cannot be released, so providing sanctuary where they can live in the ocean and regain some autonomy is “the next best thing we could do”. The project, which she hopes could eventually house about 12 to 15 whales, began a decade ago, and construction started only in the last two months. It still needs an additional C$6m ($4.2m; £3.1m) in fundraising.
Offshore sanctuaries have not yet been shown to work for retired performing whales. An offshore facility for belugas in Iceland was delayed after organisers determined more work was needed in July, pushing the introduction of two whales to next summer. Michael Weiss, research director at the Center for Whale Research in Washington state, described such sites as “more theoretical and aspirational at this point”, though he said they would likely improve the animals’ welfare compared with concrete tanks.
Critics have also pointed out that Canada’s law banned breeding as well as captivity, while the receiving facilities are not bound by the same rules and some may breed the whales. Jason Jones, senior curator of animal well-being at Georgia Aquarium, said “breeding is a natural part of an animal’s life” and that it is part of good welfare. Georgia Aquarium took in two male Marineland belugas, Balor, 10, and Zephyr, 7, who joined four females already in its care. Jones said the pair arrived “bright, alert and responsive” and that the group later swam together.
Phil Demers, a former Marineland handler, called the park’s end “bittersweet”. He said he was glad the facility had closed and hoped Canada’s ban would prompt changes elsewhere, but noted that for the Marineland whales the ban means a change of habitat rather than an end to captivity.
