The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.
A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.
But those most familiar with the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.
After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.
Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.
Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.
“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”
The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with opposing natures.
“Eve chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I view relationships.”
Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.
During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.
The facility did not operate to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”
The park did not reply to a inquiry, but in the past claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”
The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.
The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.
“There’s no way in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.
Burgess backs requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.
In late September, the nation’s government official denied a request to send the whales to an overseas location.
“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have experienced.”
But Burgess said the minister’s remarks reveal a more general incorrect perception of the realities of existence for belugas born in captivity.
“The people 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 realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”
As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of sustenance for local populations.
A proposed protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The future location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.
But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ future.
Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.
Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|
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