🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills point to they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

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

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly results of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far better health care and constant care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

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 facility believed particulars of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would prolong the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reflect a wider incorrect perception of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of food for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The future facility, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the idea of a refuge reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

An official, head of the plan, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|