Shedd Aquarium gave a closer look at how its resident and new rescue beluga whales are cared for on Friday as their staff and the public cope with three sudden deaths in only eight days.
A member of the aquarium’s resident beluga pod, 34-year-old Beethoven, and 20-year-old Rain, who was recently bought to Shedd as part of an international rescue effort to remove stranded whales from the shuttered Marineland of Canada, both died on Wednesday “despite immediate efforts by animal care and veterinary teams to provide lifesaving measures,” a spokesperson for the aquarium said.
Exactly one week prior, Shedd shared a heartbreaking update that Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga that was also part of the rescue effort, had suddenly passed away.
Peekachu and Rain were two of 10 beluga whales brought to Shedd after Ottawa authorities approved a plan to move several whales from the closed Canadian park to multiple facilities in the United States and one in Spain, an alternative to potentially euthanizing the 30 belugas that were left behind when the park closed last year. Four of the whales were transported to Shedd in late July, then four more in early August, and a final two on Sept. 1.
“As we await important results from tests and analyses related to the recent loss of Peekachu, Rain and Beethoven, and following the final rescue earlier this week, we want to share what our animal care and veterinary teams are seeing and learning about the belugas currently in our care,” Shedd said in a statement on its website.
The role of trust
Shedd explained the work their animal care teams do with belugas during training and enrichment sessions aren’t just about learning behaviors, they’re also about building trust between the care team and the animals that supports the whales’ voluntary participation in their own care.
“This trust is essential when clinical staff need to get close to an animal for assessments such as examining teeth, taking a blood sample, performing an ultrasound or conducting other physical examinations,” the Shedd website states. For their resident belugas, that trust has been shown when they “calmly presenting a fin or fluke for a blood sample or allowing a caretaker to swab their blowhole.”
Those procedures are essential for the team to learn about the whale’s health over time, but for the newly rescued belugas, care looks a bit different.
“The rescues have experienced a major transition. Understandably, some remain cautious as they continue to familiarize themselves with their new habitats, surroundings and care teams,” Shedd explained.
Their teams are letting the rescued whales take the lead, following their individual cues and looking for opportunities to take necessary samples when the animals are most comfortable.
“Through this animal-centered approach, we have been able to collect important samples from all of the rescued belugas in the days and weeks since their arrival. Those preliminary results are beginning to give us a clearer picture of their current health,” Shedd said.
A health update
Aquarium staff have been tracking the beluga’s hydration and electrolyte levels, signs of infection and other potential side effects of stress from the transition through bloodwork and other diagnostic samples.
That data, combined with what they see every day as far as food intake, social patterns and overall health assessments, is taken into consideration to evaluate the health of the whales.
As of Friday, Shedd said some of the rescued belugas “are showing more encouraging signs than others, but several have presented clinical concerns, and their health can change quickly. None are yet where we want them to be from a health standpoint.”
After her death, Shedd said Peekachu’s blood samples had raised concerns that she was “dehydrated and needed supportive care” and she died while teams worked to give her medicine and fluids.
“The pace of change for these rescued whales is important to understand. All require careful monitoring and daily adjustments to their care. We anticipated that caring for animals coming through a transition of this magnitude would be complex, and our teams are prepared to adapt their care as each whale’s needs change,” Shedd said.
Next steps
The health of the whales can change quickly, Shedd said, so the aquarium has a large team dedicated to constantly monitoring the animals and adjusting their care based on what they learn.
Based on what they’ve seen from the whales so far, Shedd said its team is closely watching hydration levels and food intake, breathing rates, swim patterns, social interactions and other behaviors.
The aquarium said it added staff to ensure the belugas were properly watched and cared for around the clock.
The lab results that will help better understand why Peekachu, Rain and Beethoven passed away are not yet available, though Shedd said their team would share the results in a future update.
“We are deeply grateful for the care and concern our community has shown for these whales, and for the patience that allows our veterinary and animal care teams to investigate these losses thoroughly,” the aquarium said.
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