Beluga Caspian dies at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium after Marineland relocation

Caspian, a 27-year-old female beluga, died on Wednesday at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium after a prolonged effort to treat her. The aquarium reported that she had been refusing food and that blood tests revealed abnormal electrolyte levels and a dangerously acidic condition, which helped staff gauge her illness but did not pinpoint a cause of death. She had been on life support for nearly four hours before passing.

Caspian is the sixth Marineland animal to die since the theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, closed and its marine mammals were relocated over six weeks this summer. Earlier deaths included four other belugas and a dolphin, with necropsies indicating chronic pre-existing diseases. The relocation involved Shedd and four other aquariums in the U.S. and Spain, and a beluga and dolphin also died at Oceanografic Valencia in Spain after the move.