🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but earlier stated: “The whales … receive far better health care and constant care than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

“It cannot happen in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be transferred right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

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

“To approve the request would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks reveal a wider misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be most controversial. The future facility, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a permanent solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the plan, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|