Four beluga whales have been transported from a bankrupt Canadian aquarium to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium in what organisers describe as an unprecedented international rescue operation. The whales, named Acadia, Lillooet, Osiris and Sierra, previously lived at Marineland of Niagara Falls, which closed to the public in 2024 after its owners died and it ran out of money, later warning it might have to euthanise animals it could not rehome. The relocation matters because it required extensive coordination between Canadian and American authorities and marks the largest operation of its kind ever attempted.

The whales were moved by truck and chartered Boeing 777 freighter, transported in individual water-filled boxes via custom stretchers, with veterinary staff constantly monitoring them and pouring water on their backs throughout the journey. Two further belugas were flown on the same aircraft to an aquarium in San Antonio, Texas, while additional whales from Marineland may go to a consortium of aquariums in Georgia, San Diego and Spain under a June agreement between Canada and Marineland. The operation involved agencies including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the US Department of Agriculture, and complied with an international treaty on animal trade; the whales are now being kept away from public view at Shedd while they acclimatise to their new home.