🔗 Share this article

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often fails to consider the nuances 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 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 euthanize them unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker discovered directly.

Burgess spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a deep bond for two female belugas with different natures.

“Eve chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each altered the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a background of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her time at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but previously stated: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and constant supervision than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility believed information of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a continued situation in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The future location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge indicates a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|