🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and communal behavior suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

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

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing personalities.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock care than any individual in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members 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 put down even a single beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and specialized tools.

“There’s no way in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official rejected a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a solution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be most controversial. The planned facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ future.

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|