🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker observed directly.

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

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with different natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They altered the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility thought particulars of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In late September, Canada’s government official rejected a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reveal a wider lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable solution in the short term.

An official, head of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|