🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the government funds the expense of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. 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 fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“One whale accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously stated: “The whales … obtain far superior medical attention and constant supervision than any person in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility suspected particulars of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s government official denied a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued life in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public 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 understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle 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 freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The planned location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

An official, director of the initiative, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|