🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the government pays for the upkeep of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their personalities. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past stated: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and around the clock attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park thought details of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, the nation’s government official turned down a request to send the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a continued life in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a wider incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has shown to be most controversial. The future location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain optimistic that it could in time represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will mimic the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|