🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer learned directly.

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

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park links to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and 24/7 attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility thought particulars of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She supports calls for the whales to be transferred right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a ongoing life in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks indicate a wider incorrect perception of the realities of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“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. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

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 natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The planned site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the initiative, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|