Tofino approached each of his handlers in turn as they knelt in shallow water and stroked his sides. Shortly after, a crane hoisted the more than 1,500kg beluga whale into a lorry to be shipped out of Canada to his new home, SeaWorld San Antonio – the last of 30 belugas and four dolphins to leave Marineland, a shuttered sea park near Niagara Falls. Marineland needed to find a new home for its whales. But when the Canadian government rejected its plan to sell them to China over concerns about animal welfare, the park’s operations said they would have to be euthanised.
That spurred an international rescue operation by several aquariums, leading to the largest ever transfer of captive whales this summer. But hopes that the animals were headed to a better life have been dampened by a number of deaths in the group. Photographer Carlos Osorio documented the move, which involved whales being flown to Chicago, Atlanta, San Diego, San Antonio, and even Valencia, Spain. Osorio recalls watching footage from a drone overhead as Tofino appeared to say his own goodbyes.
Tofino was the last captive whale in Canada. The country banned cetacean captivity and breeding seven years ago, and Osorio felt the weight of the moment. “This is the last one to happen, and it’s never going to happen again,” he says. Despite the rescue operation, tragically, five of the belugas have since died, as well as one dolphin.
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has seen the most deaths. Peekachu, 23, Rain, 20, Orisis, 26, and Caspian, 27, were all transferred from Marineland, while longtime Shedd resident Beethoven, 34, also died after eight Marineland belugas were brought there over the summer. Necropsies found chronic inflammatory disease in the gastrointestinal systems in Peekachu and Rain. Foreign objects were also discovered in their stomachs, including feathers, large rocks and flecks that appear to be paint – objects Shedd believes were ingested before they were moved to Chicago.
Osiris’s preliminary examination identified chronic liver disease. Europe’s largest aquarium, Oceanogràfic València in Spain, recorded the death of one beluga, Jelly Bean, and one dolphin, Echo. The dolphin arrived with “serious vision problems” and other health issues, it said, and “began having difficulties swallowing and respiratory problems” in the hours before she died. Experts say it is too early to judge the outcome of the transfers, especially considering the whales were facing euthanasia and had been living in an ageing facility.
According to a tally by the Canadian Press, about 20 whales died at Marineland between 2019 and September 2025. Once the country’s most popular amusement park, Marineland closed in 2024 after years of animal welfare concerns and financial woes, and following the death of its longtime owner. Public attitudes towards keeping whales in captivity have also changed drastically since Marineland opened in 1961. Like Canada, more countries are moving to ban or restrict the practice, including France and Mexico.
Melissa Matlow, a spokeswoman for World Animal Protection Canada, says that worldwide there are about 3,600 captive cetaceans – a group of marine mammals which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. But there are few alternatives for whales raised in captivity without the skills to survive in the wild. Matlow says that leaves a “growing animal welfare crisis on our hands”. Still, her organisation had concerns about the relocation of the Marineland whales.
“If an animal was not healthy enough to withstand the stress of transport, it should not have been transported,” she said in a statement. In early October, Shedd said it knew some of the Marineland belugas “could have substantial, longstanding medical needs”. Assessments before the move “informed our planning but could not reveal every underlying condition or predict how each whale would respond to the transition. The rescue offered a path to continued, specialised care”.
They said the remaining rescued belugas show positive signs, including eating well. World Animal Protection Canada had suggested two alternatives: repurpose Marineland into a hospice-style facility for the remaining captive whales and dolphins, or fast-track development of a proposed seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia, the Whale Sanctuary Project. As they can’t be released, “the next best thing we could do is provide sanctuary for them, where they can at least live in the ocean, and they can have back their autonomy”, says Lori Marino, a neuroscientist behind the Whale Sanctuary Project, which she hopes could eventually house about 12 to 15 whales. “I look at it as an exit ramp,” she adds.
The project was initiated a decade ago, she said, but construction only began in the last two months. Fundraising is continuing and needs an additional C$6m ($4.2m; £3.1m). But offshore sanctuaries have yet to be proven a successful solution for retiring performing whales. One offshore facility for belugas is being created in Iceland, but in July organisers determined that more work was needed, and delayed the introduction of two whales until next summer.
“They are kind of more theoretical and aspirational at this point,” says Michael Weiss, research director at the Center for Whale Research in Washington state, who adds that they would definitely “improve the welfare of the animals” compared to concrete tanks. “It’s a very old idea,” he says, noting that net pens have been used to rehabilitate injured wild whales, or temporarily used while re-introducing captured orcas back into the wild. Many critics note that Canada’s law banning captivity also banned the breeding of whales – but the places where they were sent do not have the same laws, and some are likely to breed them, perpetuating whale captivity. Jason Jones, senior curator of animal well-being at Georgia Aquarium, says “breeding is a natural part of an animal’s life”.
“Breeding is part of good animal welfare, and so we want to make sure that they get the opportunity to do so.” Georgia Aquarium recently took in two male Marineland belugas, named Balor, 10, and Zephyr, 7. They joined the four females already in their care. They arrived “bright, alert and responsive” and quickly began “vocalising to the females on the other side of the gate”, he says. “There was a little bit of a meeting and greeting period, but afterwards they were all kind of swimming together in a big group.” “They were exploring their new habitat, coming over and participating in sessions, eating and interacting with enrichment.
So those were all really positive signs from the get-go, and we’ve just seen progress since then.” Phil Demers, a former Marineland handler, like many people who the BBC spoke to, said the end of Marineland is “bittersweet”. He’s grateful to see the facility shut down, and hopes that Canada’s ban will inspire changes in other countries. But for now, the ban won’t mean the end of captivity for the Marineland whales, only a change of habitat. He says for people curious about whales, they should join a whale-watching tour, or watch a nature documentary on TV.
“I’d rather see a whale fart in the wild than do a triple backflip in a tank,” he says. Thirty belugas in Canada face being euthanised. Can they be saved? More whales are stranding.
Now more people are needed to help them How a Canadian walrus ended up in Abu Dhabi
