🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the heated debate over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that entailed earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting temperaments.

“Eve chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a background of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her time at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in early March following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed particulars of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and specialized tools.

“It’s impossible in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

She supports demands for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In late September, Canada’s government official turned down a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable solution in the near future.

An official, leader of the plan, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|