🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government covers the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and social skills indicate they are deeply intelligent creatures – something a former trainer learned personally.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far superior health care and 24/7 care than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected particulars of the death were shared to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s government official denied a bid to export the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a wider incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The future location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the idea of a refuge indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

The project lead, director of the plan, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|