SeaWorld has stepped in to save the thirty beluga whales that have been stuck at a shut-down Canadian theme park for two years.
Once Canada’s one of the biggest marine parks located in Marineland, Ontario, stopped operations as a public attraction two years ago (in 2024) due to financial constraints and since then the Whales have been trapped there.
The United States (U.S.) government has given a go ahead for an international rescue effort as major aquariums from across the world are teaming up to save the whales and give them new homes.
The rescue team includes SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and a Spanish aquarium Oceanografic Valencia. Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut is helping in the rescue effort but will not take any whale for itself.
It has been revealed that two whales will go to Spain while the other 28 will go to the US. The exact number of fishes the aquariums will be getting have not been revealed.
The rescue effort comes after Marineland warned last year that it might have to put the whales down if the government didn’t step in with money or approval to move them.
The park first wanted to send the whales to a marine park in China; however, the Canadian officials said no, citing concerns about animal welfare.
In June, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans backed a new plan instead, sending the whales to the US and Spain. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has now signed off on it too.
