🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a defunct facility, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to end their lives unless the federal government covers the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, 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 fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for two female belugas with contrasting personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but previously stated: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and constant attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility thought details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was released not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

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

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a request to export the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the idea of a refuge reflects a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable solution in the short term.

An official, leader of the plan, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|