First look at Shedd Aquarium's newest beluga whales
<p>Shafts of sunlight angle into glistening turquoise water. Four beluga whales, in near-synchronized perfection, glide by, eyeing the cluster of visitors on the other side of a huge picture window.</p><p>One of those visitors is Karisa Tang, Shedd Aquarium’s vice president of animal health.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Shafts of sunlight angle into glistening turquoise water. Four beluga whales, in near-synchronized perfection, glide by, eyeing the cluster of visitors on the other side of a huge picture window.</p><p>One of those visitors is Karisa Tang, Shedd Aquarium’s vice president of animal health. Tang’s hand goes to her chest at the approach of these most graceful creatures — even though she’s seen Acadia, Lillooet, Osiris, and Sierra countless times before.</p><p>“That’s stunning in the sunlight,” Tang says during visit by the Sun-Times to the aquarium Thursday morning in an area — for the time being — closed to the public.</p><p>Two more Shedd scientists huddle nearby, eyes glued to computer screens as they monitor the health of the new arrivals.</p><p>So far, says Tang, the signs look good for the whales, which arrived just before dawn Tuesday from the now-shuttered Marineland, a once-popular tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario.</p><p>“We are seeing them foraging, engaging with the habitat, being curious, exploring together. … In the previous 48 hours, we’ve seen some really positive signs,” Tang said.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-bd0000" name="image-bd0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4559a50/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6ea53cd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2fd6c31/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="Shedd Aquarium personnel watch the belugas swimming in their tank while monitoring the whales' health on Thursday, July 23, 2026." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2fd6c31/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/57c2fb5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2fd6c31/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3367+0+316/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F00%2Fd1a27b61437fa9779dc7509bfda5%2Fbelugasshed-260724-24.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Shedd Aquarium personnel watch the belugas swimming in their tank while monitoring the whales’ health on Thursday.
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- <p>Shafts of sunlight angle into glistening turquoise water. Four beluga whales, in near-synchronized perfection, glide by, eyeing the cluster of visitors on the other side of a huge picture window.</p><p>One of those visitors is Karisa Tang, Shedd Aquarium’s vice president of animal health.
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First look at Shedd Aquarium's newest beluga whales
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times