🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense controversy over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the authorities funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales progressed against a background of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far superior medical attention and constant care than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in early March following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize 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”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In late September, the nation’s government official turned down a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As Canadians, we know that whales are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks indicate a broader misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a resolution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Supporters remain optimistic that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|