# Why belugas keep dying in tanks

> Three deaths at Shedd Aquarium reopened a hard question, can even elite aquariums meet belugas' needs?
- Title: Why belugas keep dying in tanks · Vox | Shortify
- Summary: Three deaths at Shedd Aquarium reopened a hard question, can even elite aquariums meet belugas' needs? Belugas are smart, social, wide-ranging animals, and…
- Keywords: animal welfare, aquariums, belugas, captivity, conservation, news, culture, keep, dying, tanks, Vox
- Source: Vox — https://vox.com/future-perfect/502874/beluga-whales-marineland-shedd-aquarium
- Author: Kenny Torrella
- Published: 2026-09-15T21:15:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: animal welfare, aquariums, belugas, captivity, conservation, news, culture
## A troubled park closed
Marineland of Canada shut down after years of financial trouble, investigations, whistleblower accounts, and inspections tied to animal suffering.
## Many whales had died
Since 2019, 19 belugas and one killer whale died at Marineland, leaving four dolphins and 30 belugas with nowhere obvious to go.
## Sanctuary plans failed
Animal welfare groups wanted some belugas moved to a proposed 110-acre coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia. It had not been built, and the whales went elsewhere.
## Transfers began instead
Some animals went to Spain, SeaWorld sites, Georgia Aquarium, and Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, which received 10 belugas from Marineland.
## Then three died
Within eight days, two newly arrived belugas, Peekachu and Rain, died at Shedd, along with Beethoven, a beluga who had lived there for decades.
## The cause is unknown
Shedd is waiting on necropsy results. The deaths have still sharpened attention on a wider question about keeping belugas in aquariums at all.
## Shedd has history
Shedd's first belugas were taken from the wild in Canada in 1991. Two more wild-caught belugas died the next year after an anti-parasitic drug.

> These whales died to serve a tourist attraction
## Captivity limits behavior
In the wild, belugas migrate, hunt, live in complex groups, and raise young. Captive tanks cannot offer that range of movement or choice.
## Boredom becomes harm
Neuroscientist Lori Marino argues that small, artificial, unchanging spaces can be severe deprivation for animals with belugas' intelligence.

> For an animal like that, with a brain like that, that’s torture.
## Aquariums defend care
Shedd points to research saying dynamic enclosures, enrichment, management, and social bonds can predict welfare better than space alone.
## Stress shows up
Captive marine mammals may swim in repetitive patterns, regurgitate food, move their heads over and over, or grind teeth on hard surfaces.
## The sales pitch changed
Early aquariums were sold as entertainment. As animal welfare and environmental movements grew, many institutions recast themselves as conservation centers.
## Conservation claims are mixed
AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums spent $252 million on conservation in 2022, but that was about 5 percent of their operations and construction spending.
## Wild capture continues
The AZA says 80 percent of animals in member aquariums come from the wild. Critics see that as clashing with the promise to protect wild animals.
## Encounters raise doubts
Shedd and other aquariums sell close-up animal encounters. A 2021 review found much of the research used to defend such programs lacked rigor.

> the justification for using [encounter programs] within zoos remains questionable
## The core question remains
Marino says the issue is not which aquarium is best, but whether long-lived, social animals should spend their lives in tanks for public display.

> It’s the best of something that doesn’t work.
## Key takeaway

Belugas are smart, social, wide-ranging animals, and accreditation does not erase the welfare limits of life in a tank.