🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near the famous falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the government pays for the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a position that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, 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 fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and unique traits in their characters. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with different personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a background of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far better medical attention and around the clock care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the incident were leaked to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing existence in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the wild, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a wider lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a important part of food for Inuit communities.

A planned sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has proven highly debated. The future location, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust 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 animal displays and could represent a viable solution in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the location will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|