🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their future often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to end their lives unless the authorities funds the expense of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each altered the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and constant supervision than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in recent months following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park thought information of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s government official denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks reflect a wider misunderstanding of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has shown to be most controversial. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a feasible solution in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the plan, said the location will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|