🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their future often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different natures.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but previously stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and around the clock care than any individual in the Britain, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

“It cannot happen in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

She backs requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official turned down a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the wild, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A planned sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been most controversial. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the idea of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible solution in the coming months.

An official, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|