🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense debate over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

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

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far better medical attention and constant supervision than any person in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility believed particulars of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official denied a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As society, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a broader incorrect perception of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A proposed refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has proven contentious. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ future.

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

An official, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|