🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute small “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the expense of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a job that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“Eve chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both transformed the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a background of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and constant attention than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in early March following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed details of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “immense manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess advocates for requests for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a request to send the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a wider misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has shown to be most controversial. The planned site, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|