🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense debate over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities covers the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions indicate they are deeply intelligent creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered personally.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a job that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with different natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a number which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 care than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in recent months following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility believed details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

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

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

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks reflect a wider lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The planned site, which includes a large area of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|