🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government funds the upkeep of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

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

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in recent months following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park thought information of the death were disclosed to the press and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

“There’s no way in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

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

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

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

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives 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 straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a important part of food for local populations.

A suggested protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The planned site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|