🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense debate over their future often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government covers the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something a former trainer observed personally.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a role that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

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

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park links to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the tanks 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 mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior medical attention and constant care than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility thought information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a more general incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“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 comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The future location, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|