🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a defunct facility, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something a former trainer observed directly.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a role that required building relationships of the marine predators.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their characters. She cultivated a special affection for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“Eve chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales developed against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to 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 witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and constant care than any person in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected details of the death were shared to the press and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements indicate a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for local populations.

A planned refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The planned site, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

An official, director of the initiative, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|