Important Beluga Care Updates
As we await important results from tests and analyses related to the recent loss of Peekachu, Rain and Beethoven, and following the final rescue earlier this week, we want to share what our animal care and veterinary teams are seeing and learning about the belugas currently in our care.
Building Trust is Part of Care
Visitors to Shedd may regularly see our animal care teams working with belugas during training and enrichment sessions. These moments are about much more than learning behaviors. They help build trust between each whale and their care team, allowing the whales to voluntarily participate in their own care. This trust is essential when clinical staff need to get close to an animal for assessments such as examining teeth, taking a blood sample, performing an ultrasound or conducting other physical examinations.
For Shedd’s longtime resident belugas, that means calmly presenting a fin or fluke for a blood sample or allowing a caretaker to swab their blowhole. These routine procedures give our teams important information about an animal’s health and wellbeing over time.
Care looks different for the recently rescued belugas.
The rescues have experienced a major transition. Understandably, some remain cautious as they continue to familiarize themselves with their new habitats, surroundings and care teams. Our teams are working around the clock, taking cues from each whale, and looking for opportunities to collect needed samples when they are most comfortable, while continuing to build trust along the way.
Through this animal-centered approach, we have been able to collect important samples from all of the rescued belugas in the days and weeks since their arrival. Those preliminary results are beginning to give us a clearer picture of their current health.
Current Health of the Rescued Belugas
Bloodwork and other diagnostic samples help us look at many aspects of a whale’s health, including hydration and electrolyte balance, signs of infection and the potential effects of stress following a significant transition. We consider that information alongside what we see each day, including caloric intake, social patterns and overall health assessments.
As of today, some of the rescued belugas are showing more encouraging signs than others, but several have presented clinical concerns, and their health can change quickly. None are yet where we want them to be from a health standpoint. We remain unwavering in our commitment to their care. When we agreed to rescue these animals from the threat of euthanasia, we knew there would be challenges and that they would require intensive, individualized care and close monitoring as they adjusted to this significant transition.
The pace of change for these rescued whales is important to understand. All require careful monitoring and daily adjustments to their care. We anticipated that caring for animals coming through a transition of this magnitude would be complex, and our teams are prepared to adapt their care as each whale’s needs change.
Given the immense outpouring of support and concern for these incredible animals, we want to share the full picture, including the uncertainty. Their condition can change from day to day and, at times, hour to hour. Our team of animal care and husbandry staff, veterinarians and clinical technicians, an expert nutritionist and water chemists are continuously monitoring the whales and adjusting care based on what each one is telling us.
How This Knowledge is Shaping Care
Given what we know about their current health, as informed by recent samples and observations, there are a few things we are monitoring very closely.
One of the things we are watching closely is hydration.
Belugas get the water their bodies need primarily through the fish they eat. Because of that, tracking exactly how much each whale eats gives our teams an important, non-invasive way to understand fluid intake and calculate hydration levels.
During this transition, some of the rescued belugas are eating consistently and robustly. Others are not yet eating as regularly. By carefully tracking food and fluid intake, our teams can recognize changes quickly and determine when additional supportive care may be needed.
Numbers are only part of the picture.
Our teams are also watching breathing rates, swim patterns, social interaction, and other behaviors. Belugas are highly social and behaviorally complex animals, and changes in behavior can tell us important things about how an individual is doing.
That is especially valuable now, as we continue getting to know each of these whales, their habits, their preferences and what is typical for them.
This monitoring is happening around the clock. Shedd added staff specifically to ensure we had the coverage needed to provide 24/7 observation and care as the rescued belugas arrived.
Shedd’s Resident Beluga Pod
As we grieve the loss of 34-year-old Beethoven, our attention to Shedd’s resident beluga pod has not wavered. They continue to receive the same close, individualized care and monitoring they have always been provided, with our teams watching for any changes in health, behavior or social dynamics.
What Comes Next
We are still awaiting laboratory results that will help us better understand the losses of Peekachu, Rain and Beethoven. When those analyses are complete and we have a deeper understanding of what they tell us, we will share another update.
We are deeply grateful for the care and concern our community has shown for these whales, and for the patience that allows our veterinary and animal care teams to investigate these losses thoroughly.