🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for two female belugas with different temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 care than any person in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility thought information of the death were shared to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to put down even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

Burgess advocates for calls for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s government official turned down a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a broader lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize 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 comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a answer, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for local populations.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent 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 experiment” in the whales’ future.

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

An official, head of the initiative, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|