🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker learned directly.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and 24/7 care than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility suspected information of the death were disclosed to the press and she was released not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a ongoing situation in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements indicate a more general misunderstanding of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a solution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The future facility, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will mimic the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|