🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart animals – something a former trainer learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their characters. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected details of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reflect a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A planned sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been contentious. The planned site, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

An official, head of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|