2-year-old beluga whale dies at SeaWorld San Antonio

In the heels of SeaWorld’s announcement to phase out its whale shows in California, the death of a beluga whale in its San Antonio park serves as a reminder why the measure just isn’t enough.

According to KSAT, the cause of death will not be known until a necropsy is performed. He has been at the Texas ocean theme park on a breeding loan from Vancouver since 2011. The seven other beluga whales that shared the tank with Stella are under observation but reportedly doing ok.

Naomi Rose, Ph.D., a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute, told The Dodo back in July that whenever a captive-born cetacean calf dies, she suspects the effects of captivity are a factor. We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about.

A park statement says the whale named Stella died Friday while being treated for gastrointestinal problems.

PETA Foundation Director of Animal Law Jared Goodman released the following statement in response to the beluga whale death this weekend in San Antonio. That’s why facilities like SeaWorld have so desperately tried to import belugas captured from the wild, as this beluga’s parents were.

This is not the first beluga whale to die at the park this year.