🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the cost of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a role that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I perceive bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … get far superior health care and 24/7 care than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed information of the death were disclosed to the press and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess backs demands for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official denied a request to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued situation in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that whales are meant for the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a more general incorrect perception of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be contentious. The prospective facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term resolution 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 “simply an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|