Thought Question: Describe a time you helped take care of someone or something that needed you. When a marine park in Canada determined in 2024 that it could no longer stay open, a major problem surfaced. What should they do with the nearly three dozen beluga whales living in captivity at the park? Initially, leaders at Marineland in Niagara Falls wanted to ship the whales to China. But moving them across the globe wasn’t safe. Then, the marine park said it would only ship them to spots in the US. But cross-border trade laws did not allow it. Canada’s fisheries minister argued for their return to the wild. But experts said that their time in captivity has left them unlikely to survive in the open ocean. The park then announced it had no other choice but to euthanize the whales. That’s when government officials and US marine centers jumped in. A number of aquatic centers in the US banded together and said they could take in the whales. Government officials from the US and Canada quickly worked out a cross-border deal for the whales to be moved. In the coming weeks, the belugas will be moved to their new homes. Some will be sent to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Others will go to Sea World parks in San Antonio and San Diego. Some will move to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. And some will call the Oceanogràfic València in Spain their new home. “An international rescue at this scale has never been done before and it’s incredibly complex,” Dr. Karisa Tang said in a video message. She is Shedd's vice president of animal health. Shedd took in four of the whales this week. They are expecting six more. They will join eight belugas already living there. Shedd is one of only a few places with the space and skills to care for the belugas, Tang explained. “There is an urgent, timely need to find new homes for them,” she said, “and we are here to help.”
