One of the Shedd’s rescued beluga whales has died

This is a developing story; check back for updates. 

One of eight Shedd Aquarium beluga whales recently rescued from a shuttered aquatic park in Canada has died, the aquarium announced Wednesday.

Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga, arrived at Shedd with three others about two weeks ago.

“In the days that followed the rescue, Peekachu showed early signs of progress as she ate squid, herring and capelin from caretakers and checked out the care team from the underwater windows as they monitored the progress of the rescues,” Shedd said in a statement. “Yesterday, we got an opportunity to get blood samples from Peekachu, who was not consistently eating her full diet. When we looked at the blood values, we were concerned that she was dehydrated and needed supportive care. On Tuesday evening, as teams worked to provide her with medicine and fluids, Peekachu passed away suddenly.”

The aquarium is planning a post-mortem to try to better understand Peekachu’s “overall health before she passed and what might have led to her death.”

Peekachu was part of a group of four belugas that arrived Aug. 13, joining four other beluga rescues that arrived from Marineland Canada July 21. In total, Shedd is expected to house 16 belugas, including the eight already living at the aquarium before the Marineland whales arrived.

The Marineland belugas, a group of 30, had been living at the park, which has for years faced criticism that its animals were living in unsanitary conditions. The park closed to the public in 2024 and Marineland officials, citing extreme financial difficulties, had threatened to euthanize the whales if permanent homes couldn’t be found.