🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the authorities covers the cost of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and social skills point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and 24/7 attention than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a continued life in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As society, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a more general misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been most controversial. The planned site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a refuge reflects a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|