🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the federal government covers the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each changed the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and 24/7 care than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in recent months following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected particulars of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a broader incorrect perception of the facts of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Supporters remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a sanctuary represents a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|