🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated debate over their destiny often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker observed personally.

Burgess spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both changed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock attention than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed details of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a ongoing life in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments indicate a broader incorrect perception of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a solution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the wilds 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 been most controversial. The future location, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the prospect of a refuge represents a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the initiative, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|