🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the government pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing temperaments.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and constant attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park believed details of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was fired soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers 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 euthanize even a single beluga would require “significant manpower”, equipment and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks reflect a more general misunderstanding of the realities of life for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has proven most controversial. The future site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a refuge indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

An official, leader of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|