Since she was born at Shedd Aquarium in 1999, Kayavak’s life was full of firsts. Shedd opened the 3-million-gallon Abbott Oceanarium a few years earlier in 1991, which gave guests a chance to come eye-to-eye with animals like dolphins, penguins, beluga whales and more for the first time in Chicago. As such, Kayavak became the first beluga calf that Chicagoans had the opportunity to watch grow up at Shedd, from a small dark gray calf to a 12-foot-long, bright white adult.
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Early in her life, Kayavak was unexpectedly abandoned by her mother at just 5 months old, when she was still nursing. Shedd’s expert caretakers stepped in. This meant that she was also the first calf that Shedd experts needed to help hand rear. This around-the-clock care resulted in Kayavak developing especially close bonds with her care team. These bonds persisted for the 25 years that she lived at Shedd.
Kayavak’s birth and development over the years gave Shedd experts the opportunity to advance our collective understanding of beluga biology through close observations, training sessions and regular check-ups with onsite vets. Throughout that time, she also inspired millions of guests to learn about and appreciate the beauty and biology of the aquatic world.
In early April 2025, Kayavak’s caretakers noticed her showing signs of illness. Immediately, our animal care and veterinary teams began working on a treatment plan. We discovered a potential issue in her abdomen, and within a matter of hours we mobilized a team of experts from here at Shedd, across Chicagoland and flew in specialists overnight from around the country to intervene. This expert group included our friends and colleagues at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, the Veterinary Specialty Center, the Zoological Pathology Program, ZooRadOne, Dr. James Bailey and Dr. Dean Hendrickson from Colorado State University.
Kayavak’s care was truly novel, including what is possibly the first CT scan as well as the first anesthesia and abdominal surgery for an adult beluga whale. But despite our speed, teamwork and extraordinary efforts, Kayavak’s condition continued to worsen, and it was clear she would not recover. With her wellbeing and comfort as our top priority, we made the difficult but compassionate decision to humanely euthanize her while she was surrounded by her trusted caretakers.
We are truly heartbroken to say goodbye to Kayavak, a remarkable and exceptional beluga that we had the absolute privilege to watch grow and thrive for the past 25 years. We are buoyed by our memories of her and the lasting impact we know she has made on countless guests of all ages who had the opportunity to witness the majesty of a beluga whale — many of whom for the very first time.