🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer discovered directly.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting natures.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far superior veterinary services and constant supervision than any person in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park suspected details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

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

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As society, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reflect a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has been contentious. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable solution in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will mimic the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|