🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the cost of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and group interactions indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“Eve chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They changed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but previously stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality veterinary services and 24/7 care than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility thought information of the death were leaked to the press and she was fired not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

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

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements indicate a wider incorrect perception of the realities of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be contentious. The planned location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|