Marineland's bears on the move to sanctuary in Colorado

Patrons try a ride at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., on August 14, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton

Twelve black bears from Marineland are travelling in a pair of trailers toward their new home at a sanctuary in the United States more than 2,000 kilometres away as the park slowly winds down its operations.

The bears are off to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, a charity that sits on a massive property that nearly 1,000 large carnivores including bears, lions and tigers call home.

“We wish them safe travels and a comfortable life in their new home!” Marineland said in a statement.

Marineland staff as well as a half-dozen workers from the sanctuary began preparing the bears to move early Wednesday morning and the entire operation was wrapped up before noon, the park said.

The day went smoothly, said Pat Craig, the sanctuary’s executive director.

“I was glad that we put a lot of time prepping into it and talking with Marineland and working on the logistics of what would happen today,” he said. “And so all that preparation helped pay off to where it’s really quick and easy on the bears.”

The bears should be in their new digs by late Thursday morning, he said.

There, the dozen bears will have 40 hectares of land to themselves, a space the size of about 75 football fields.

They’ll have their own evergreen forest, Craig said. “It’s almost like they’re going to live back in the wild, even though these guys never did,” he said.

The deal has been in the works for some time, but the bears couldn’t be moved while they were hibernating.

Late last year, Julie Woodyer of Zoocheck, a Canadian-based animal rights’ organization, heard the provincial government was looking to help Marineland move its bears.

She immediately thought of the Wild Animal Sanctuary, a place where she had helped relocate rescued bears in the past, she said.

Woodyer put Craig in touch with Marineland and everything seemed to go well from there on, she said.

“It is a really wonderful sanctuary facility and they have the space and resources to care for that number of bears,” she said.

The Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction closed to the public in the summer of 2024 after the death of its owner, Marie Holer. The park’s founder, John Holer, died in 2018 and left Marineland to his wife.

Now the sprawling property just a kilometre from Horseshoe Falls is up for sale. Sources have said a deal is in place for the land with the sale conditional upon the animals being removed from the property.

Several hundred deer also remain at the park as Marineland slowly works to move them.

Marineland is also working with a coalition of American aquariums in a bid to move its 30 belugas and four dolphins.

The park has said it is running out of money to care for its animals.

Since 2019, 19 beluga whales, one killer whale and one dolphin have died at Marineland.

That year, the federal government also passed a law that banned marine mammal captivity, but grandfathered in Marineland’s animals. It also banned using marine mammals in shows and forbade breeding.

Last year, Marineland applied for a permit to send its whales to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China, which had bought all of the park’s belugas.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied the permit, saying she did not want to subject the whales to performances and breeding.

In response, Marineland threatened to euthanize its whales should the federal government not provide emergency funding.

Months later, those negotiations with the federal government continue and the park has not ruled out the possibility of mass euthanasia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2026.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press