Three rescued beluga whales have arrived at SeaWorld San Diego after traveling more than 2,500 miles from Canada following the closure of a marine park in Niagara Falls.
Ever since that Ontario park, Marineland, shuttered in 2024, there has been a scramble to find homes for 30 beluga whales who were once kept there. Described by SeaWorld as “an unprecedented international whale rescue effort,” the goal is to safely relocate the animals to suitable facilities, including aquariums and marine parks as far away as Atlanta and Valencia, Spain.
“Three more rescued belugas are safe,” SeaWorld posted on the social media site X on Saturday. Images shared along with that posting showed a large shipping container and a plane; a beluga suspended in a transport sling, with holes for its pectoral fins, over the container; a light gray beluga being hoisted through the air by a crane holding the sling; and a beluga swimming in water. The three belugas were transported to California on Saturday in a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 cargo plane.
The whales’ full health picture was still being assessed earlier this summer, but the relocation plan “was built, as much as possible, on understanding their overall health, social bonds and multiple other factors,” SeaWorld’s chief zoological officer, Dr. Chris Dold, said in a statement at the time. The three new arrivals will join SeaWorld San Diego’s other belugas, a roster that includes three other whales transported there from Marineland.
Steve Aibel, SeaWorld San Antonio’s vice president for animals and conservation, rode along for the first transport of six belugas in special cold-water-filled units earlier this year from Ontario to the Texas park and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. To date, whales have been transported both by air and truck.
“Seeing these first beluga whales arrive safely to their new homes is an important milestone, but it’s not the finish line,” Aibel said in the statement. “Our team is laser focused on supporting each whale through this transition with individualized care, patience and observation to ensure their welfare. We’re optimistic about what’s ahead, while recognizing that every animal will adapt on its own timeline.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that park officials said they were not yet sure when the whales would be introduced to the public.
Eric Otjen, vice president of animals and conservation for SeaWorld San Diego, said the team there “is overjoyed to welcome the belugas to San Diego,” according to Fox 5 San Diego. “Our immediate focus is on Xavier, Cyprus, and Jasper’s health and wellbeing.”
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