🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a role that involved earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those connections 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 vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with different natures.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality veterinary services and constant attention than any human in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park suspected details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

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

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks indicate a more general incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The future site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

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

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the plan, said the facility will mimic the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|