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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

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

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and around the clock attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to put down even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

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

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements indicate a more general lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has proven contentious. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|