Marineland began moving on Wednesday a third batch of whales to aquariums outside of Canada.
A team of specialized workers at the shuttered tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont., guided six beluga whales into a custom sling one by one before hoisting them into tanks.
A police-escorted convoy was then set to slowly drive the whales – two males and four females — to Toronto’s Pearson airport, where they are to be loaded onto a plane and flown to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
Marineland closed its doors to the public in 2024, with the park and its sprawling property up for sale. The park has said it is running out of money and can no longer care for the whales.
Tom Western, a retired Marineland employee who was at the park on Wednesday, said he was elated to see the whales move on.
“Marineland’s a big part of my life. I worked here for 40 years,” he said in an interview.
“I was here when all the adult belugas were put in this pool with the exception of the ones that were born here, and I’m so happy that they’re moving on to new homes.”
Western said he was grateful for the chance “to say goodbye to some of my old friends here.”
“It’s just an honour,” he said, adding that the belugas are in good hands with the organizations involved in the move.
Before Marineland began shipping its whales to the United States last month, the park had 30 belugas and four dolphins – the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada.
The first move on July 20 saw six belugas head to new homes at Shedd and SeaWorld in San Antonio. Weeks later, another seven belugas were transferred to the San Antonio attraction.
The complex operation, which Marineland has called “unprecedented,” is the whales’ only shot at survival.
The park struck a deal last year to sell all 30 belugas to a massive aquarium in China, but the fisheries minister blocked the sale, deeming it not in the best interest of the animals.
In response, Marineland said it would euthanize all the whales if it didn’t receive emergency funding from the federal government, a threat that made international headlines.
A beluga whale is transported by a group of experts from Marineland and U.S. aquariums onto a truck via a sling at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio
Ottawa later greenlighted another deal with a consortium of American and Spanish aquariums, which helped orchestrate the series of moves currently underway.
SeaWorld in San Diego and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain are also expected to welcome some of Marineland’s whales or dolphins.
If, for some reason, the whales are not moved, they will be euthanized.
After Wednesday’s move, 11 belugas and four dolphins will remain. Marineland has said it hopes to have all the whales gone by the end of the month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2026.
By Paola Loriggio | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.