{"id":861161,"date":"2026-09-26T08:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T08:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/861161\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T08:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T08:42:12","slug":"shedd-finds-gastrointestinal-disease-in-2-beluga-whales-from-marineland-that-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/861161\/","title":{"rendered":"Shedd Finds Gastrointestinal Disease In 2 Beluga Whales From Marineland That Died"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOWNTOWN \u2014 Two beluga whales that died at Shedd Aquarium after being rescued from a shuttered Canadian marine park<\/a> had chronic gastrointestinal disease that likely began before they arrived at the aquarium, according to preliminary findings released Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The findings provide the first medical clues into the deaths of Peekachu, 23, and Rain, 20, who were transferred to Shedd from Marineland in Ontario this summer. But Shedd said the findings do not establish a common cause of death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Beethoven, a 34-year-old longtime Shedd beluga who died alongside Rain<\/a>, showed several age-associated health changes, including cardiovascular changes. Further analysis is underway to determine what contributed to his death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far, Shedd said it has found no evidence of a shared infectious disease or a common environmental factor connecting the three deaths. Additional testing for fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens is continuing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tissue examinations in Peekachu and Rain found chronic inflammation in both whales\u2019 gastrointestinal systems, which was considered significant in Peekachu and severe in Rain. The type and extent of the inflammation indicate the disease had been present for an extended period, potentially months or years, according to Shedd.<\/p>\n

In the Shedd officials said the findings suggest the disease began before the whales arrived at the aquarium and would have made them more vulnerable during their transition to a new environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Peekachu\u2019s stomach contained bird feathers, sticks and large porous rocks, while Rain\u2019s contained small flecks of material that may have been paint. Shedd said the foreign materials were not believed to have directly caused either death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Beethoven,Beethoven, a 34-year-old beluga at the Shedd Aquarium, died this week, the third whale to die at the facility in the last 8 days, officials said Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. The longtime aquarium resident is seen here in a 2017 photo. Credit: Brenna Hernandez\/Shedd Aquarium<\/p>\n

The aquarium said the rescued whales had been screened for known communicable diseases before their transfer from Marineland.<\/p>\n

Shedd received 10 belugas from Marineland this summer as part of an international effort to relocate about 30 whales from the facility. Four of the rescued whales have now died: Peekachu, Rain and Osiris at Shedd, and Jelly Bean at Oceanogr\u00e1fic Valencia in Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Osiris, 26, died Monday. Her necropsy is being conducted separately, and Shedd said it will evaluate her medical history and findings independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shedd is closely tracking its other whales\u2019 food intake, hydration, behavior and gastrointestinal health and adjusting individual care plans as needed. Shedd said Secord and Caspian are currently the rescued whales of greatest clinical concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The aquarium also noted that Ontario authorities had previously documented environmental concerns at Marineland, including problems involving marine-mammal life-support systems and water-quality standards. Shedd said those records do not establish what caused the gastrointestinal disease found in Peekachu and Rain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional analysis of tissue samples remains underway, and Shedd said it will release further findings when they materially add to its understanding of the whales\u2019 health or deaths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Support Local News!<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago<\/a>,\u00a0an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago\u2019s neighborhoods. Already subscribe?\u00a0Click here to gift a subscription<\/a>, or you can\u00a0support Block Club with a\u00a0tax-deductible donation.<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DOWNTOWN \u2014 Two beluga whales that died at Shedd Aquarium after being rescued from a shuttered Canadian marine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6049,79,201],"class_list":["post-861161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-museums","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}