🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the federal government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the federal government covers the expense of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“Eve chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and 24/7 care than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the death were leaked to the press and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely 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 easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been contentious. The prospective location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for a number of the whales.

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

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the location will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|