🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near the famous falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the government covers the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

“One whale chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in recent months following the death of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed particulars of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

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

“Granting the proposal would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a broader misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a resolution, proposals have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has been most controversial. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

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

Others say the possibility of a refuge represents a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

The project lead, director of the plan, said the facility will mimic the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|