🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to put them down unless the government covers the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker learned directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a position that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Both changed the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier asserted: “The whales … get far superior medical attention and 24/7 care than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in early March following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park thought information of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a wider lack of awareness of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“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 realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been highly debated. The planned location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|