{"id":7663,"date":"2026-08-24T20:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7663"},"modified":"2026-08-24T20:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:38:21","slug":"rescued-beluga-whales-from-shuttered-canadian-park-arrive-safely-at-seaworld-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7663","title":{"rendered":"Rescued beluga whales from shuttered Canadian park arrive safely at SeaWorld San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><p>In a move months in the making, three male beluga whales from a shuttered marine park in Canada were gently lowered into a pool at SeaWorld San Diego on Saturday, saving the animals from possibly being euthanized.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7655\">San Jose-based Archer Aviation expanding flying taxi-service to L.A. Live<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Xavier, who is 13, and Cyprus and Jasper, who are both 9 years of age, traveled more than 2,500 miles to San Diego from Marineland, an animal theme park and aquarium in Niagara Falls, which closed in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The three whales\u2019 12-hour, land-and-air journey to San Diego went smoothly, but \u201ctheir whole world flipped upside down,\u201d said Cindie Sweitzer, a zoological specialist senior at SeaWorld San Diego. \u201cThey\u2019d lived their entire lives at Marineland. We want to give them time to acclimate to their new surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><ul><div><div><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rescued belugas arrive to San Diego Airport. (Courtesy of SeaWorld...\" class=\"wp-image-7657\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276-1024x768.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276.webp 1859w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Rescued belugas arrive to San Diego Airport. (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rescued beluga whale arrives to SeaWorld San Diego. (Courtesy of...\" class=\"wp-image-7658\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091-1024x682.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091-1024x682.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091-1536x1023.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b48b515414c78e32cc8fcb5649c51091.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Rescued beluga whale arrives to SeaWorld San Diego. (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rescued beluga arrives to SeaWorld San Diego. (Courtesy of SeaWorld...\" class=\"wp-image-7659\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a61a5c3d7b17f403d7eb1576105810f1.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Rescued beluga arrives to SeaWorld San Diego.  (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rescued beluga whale arrives to SeaWorld San Diego.(Courtesy of SeaWorld...\" class=\"wp-image-7660\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f6ac1de16a85a8c8c318781b89bb612.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Rescued beluga whale arrives to SeaWorld San Diego.(Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rescued beluga whale swims around at SeaWorld San Diego. (Courtesy...\" class=\"wp-image-7661\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58-1024x682.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58-1024x682.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58-1536x1023.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e699e0cb17e4c53d95bb8a5497816c58.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>Rescued beluga whale swims around at SeaWorld San Diego.  (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><li><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"SeaWorld San Diego team celebrates successful rescue of 3 belugas...\" class=\"wp-image-7662\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7-1024x682.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7-1024x682.webp 1024w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7-1536x1023.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/40550c2a1e8e99c70a2a67e72ff12ea7.webp 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>SeaWorld San Diego team celebrates successful rescue of 3 belugas whales. (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><\/ul><div><button>Show Caption<\/button><div><span>1<\/span> of <span>6<\/span><\/div><div>Rescued belugas arrive to San Diego Airport. (Courtesy of SeaWorld San Diego)\n<\/div><span>Expand<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The carefully choreographed operation, which required months of planning and relied on dozens of animal care experts from both the U.S. and Canada, was dubbed a rescue because the whales no longer had an aquarium to call home.<\/p>\n<p>The three cetaceans who came to San Diego via a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 cargo plane are among 30 whales that had been at risk of being euthanized if they could not be relocated from Marineland.<\/p>\n<p>The rescue effort was made possible by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which entered into an agreement with the SeaWorld parks in San Diego and San Antonio, as well as the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, for the transport of the whales to their new homes.<\/p>\n<p>Closed to the public for the last two years, the Canadian park was no longer financially able to care for the marine mammals, ranging in age from 6 to 32. The three whales relocated to San Diego will raise the park\u2019s number of belugas to six.<\/p>\n<p>Of the 30 whales to be rescued, SeaWorld will be getting the largest share.<\/p> <div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The three belugas that traveled to San Diego on Saturday were each placed on padded stretchers that featured small holes for their pectoral fins. They were then placed in individual transport boxes \u201cfilled half-way with water that\u2019s the same temperature that they are used to,\u201d Sweitzer said. \u201cTwo people kept an eye on each box, and kept them wet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The crew made sure the water level wasn\u2019t high enough to slosh around the inside of the aircraft, in case the plane encountered turbulence.<\/p>\n<p>The belugas \u2014 housed in customized, cold-water containers \u2014 spent close to 4 1\/2 hours in the air before they landed in San Diego just after 7 a.m. Saturday. Workers then transported the animals to the Wild Arctic area of SeaWorld, wrapping up the transfer about 8:30 a.m.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7653\">Death Valley tourist dies while trying to walk for help<\/a><\/p>\n<div><video>https:\/\/wpdash.medianewsgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEAWORLD-IG-FINAL.mp4<\/video><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt is not an easy task to move 1,500-pound whales across country,\u201d Sweitzer said. \u201cThere is an element of stress that is involved in that for the whale.\u201d<\/p> <div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cOur main focus and priority right now is their welfare and creating the best life we can for them. That\u2019s going to look different in many ways. Exploring their main habitat when it\u2019s time for them to go out there. Meeting our entire crew at their own pace. Learning our behaviors versus their behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven seeing guests in our underwater viewing is going to be new for them, even though they had underwater viewing at the Marineland park,\u201d Sweitzer said.<\/p>\n<p>Park officials said they currently don\u2019t know when the belugas will be introduced to the general public.<\/p>\n<p>There are eight whales still to be relocated from Marineland, said SeaWorld spokesperson Tracy Spahr. Two will be going to the Shedd Aquarium, four more to SeaWorld San Antonio, and two to Oceanogr\u00e0fic Val\u00e8ncia \u2014 an aquarium in Spain.<\/p>\n<p>While transporting large mammals like whales, dolphins and polar bears by plane isn\u2019t unheard of \u2014 SeaWorld has been doing it for decades, says Eric Otjen, vice president of zoological operations at the San Diego park. What\u2019s unprecedented is the collaboration of multiple aquariums and two countries pulling off a rescue of 30 whales in a short period of time, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not just going to one place. They\u2019re going to four different places in the United States, so to get all the logistics done is a monumental task,\u201d Otjen said. \u201cThis is classified as a rescue because the whales don\u2019t have a place to live, but it\u2019s not a rescue because the whales\u2019 health and well-being were never in doubt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Canadian trainers have been pouring their hearts and souls into these animals for years, so they\u2019re losing a big part of their identity. We\u2019re sensitive to that, too, and as sad as it is, we\u2019re also really honored and privileged to be able to offer the whales a new place to stay.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7651\">Classic rock icon, now 82, \u2018singing better than I\u2019ve ever sung in my life\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 12-hour journey from Canada required a Qatar Airways cargo plane, special stretchers, and cranes, plus plenty of animal care experts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rescued beluga whales from shuttered Canadian park arrive safely at SeaWorld San Diego - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rescued beluga whales from shuttered Canadian park arrive safely at SeaWorld San Diego - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 12-hour journey from Canada required a Qatar Airways cargo plane, special stretchers, and cranes, plus plenty of animal care experts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-24T20:38:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4240ab97fe7052aa95c5c677b872276.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1859\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Rescued beluga whales from shuttered Canadian park arrive safely at SeaWorld San Diego\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-24T20:38:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663\"},\"wordCount\":940,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/69ca8b9e130c655204725d90b1028d6d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7663\",\"name\":\"Rescued beluga whales from shuttered Canadian park arrive safely at SeaWorld San Diego - 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