🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense discussion over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the government funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and group interactions indicate they are deeply intelligent mammals – something a former trainer learned personally.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past stated: “The whales … obtain far superior medical attention and around the clock attention than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected information of the incident were shared to the media and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued situation in confinement and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a broader misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ future.

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

An official, leader of the initiative, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|