🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to China, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities pays for the expense of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something a former trainer discovered directly.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a role that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over 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 nevertheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

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

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the park links to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … get far higher quality veterinary services and 24/7 supervision than any person in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park thought particulars of the death were shared to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in despair. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, trucks and machinery.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a broader lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|