🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart animals – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

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

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. 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 nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and around the clock supervision than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park suspected details of the incident were shared to the press and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She supports calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official turned down a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in good conscience permit an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a wider incorrect perception of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The future location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

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

Others say the possibility of a refuge represents a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the near future.

The project lead, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|