🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a background of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a number which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far superior health care and 24/7 supervision than any human in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility thought details of the incident were shared to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to put down even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has shown to be contentious. The planned location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

An official, head of the initiative, said the location will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|