🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often fails to consider the nuances 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 Canadian government prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the government covers the upkeep of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart animals – something a former trainer learned directly.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that required gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. 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 magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both transformed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and 24/7 attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected particulars of the death were shared to the media and she was released not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In recent months, Canada’s government official turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the request would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks indicate a wider lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The planned site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

An official, head of the plan, said the facility will mimic the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|