🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to put them down unless the federal government funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess discovered first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. 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 extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but previously stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “immense manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has shown to be most controversial. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the plan, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|