Theme Park Report
Three beluga whales relocated from Marineland have not yet been introduced to SeaWorld San Diego’s resident beluga pod, nearly two weeks after arriving at the park.
The young whales—two are 9 years old and the third is 13—are currently being held in a behind-the-scenes pool in the Wild Arctic area. The pool is separate from the area housing SeaWorld San Diego’s three resident belugas, which are 19, 24 and 42 years old.
SeaWorld spokesperson Tracy Spahr told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the new arrivals are adjusting well and will be integrated through a phased process. The park has not provided a specific timeline for the introduction, although Spahr said it should occur in the near term.
“We are taking our time to allow them to acclimate to one another and become comfortable in their new surroundings,” Spahr said. Once the whales are fully acclimated, SeaWorld will assess their individual comfort levels before determining when they are ready to go on exhibit.
The whales reached San Diego following a 12-hour journey. They were initially placed on padded stretchers with openings for their pectoral fins before being transferred into individual transport boxes that were partially filled with water kept at their accustomed temperature.
The three belugas were among 30 whales relocated from the shuttered Marineland park in Niagara Falls after the Canadian facility could no longer care for them. Accredited aquariums in the United States and Spain accepted the whales, which otherwise faced euthanasia if they could not be relocated. SeaWorld’s San Antonio park received 13 of the animals.
SeaWorld San Diego’s slower introduction process comes after two recently relocated belugas died at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, along with a longtime Shedd resident. Shedd said the deaths included Rain, a 20-year-old female who had arrived from Canada the previous month, and Beethoven, a 34-year-old resident. Necropsies and other examinations are underway, according to the Chicago Tribune.
SeaWorld San Diego expressed sympathy for the Shedd Aquarium team. The park previously said the welfare of the incoming whales would remain its priority as they learned their new environment, staff routines and eventually the underwater viewing area experienced by guests.
