🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess learned personally.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that involved building relationships of the sea creatures.

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

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting natures.

“Eve accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant care than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any plans to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a bid to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued life in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a broader incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a resolution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

The project lead, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|