Russian whales at aquarium

2008-12-09

Marc Kilchling, Niagara Falls Review

Arctic Cove at Marineland had a few new residents move in over the weekend. Eight Russian belugas -all females -landed in Hamilton Saturday morning after a 13- hour flight aboard a specially modified Aeroflot IL-76 jumbo jet.

From the airport, they made the one hour trip down the QEW to Marineland inside water-filled tanks hauled by tractor trailers.

"There are two in each tank - they keep each other company," said John Holer, owner and founder of Marineland.

The new additions bring the total number of the belugas at the aquarium to 30.

"We have a large demand of people who want to feed and pet the belugas," Holer said.

He says belugas are the friendliest of whales, particularly when dealing with the public.

So far, only one of the eight has shed its youthful grey colour and turned the milky, white colour belugas are known for.

Belugas are native to the Arctic areas, with this latest batch of two-to three-year-olds originally coming from the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Russia. They have been housed in a beluga aquarium in the Black Sea since being taken into captivity a couple of years ago.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature last year downgraded the threat of extinction for belugas and estimates the global population at 150,000.

Rob Laidlaw, executive director of Zoocheck, a national wildlife protection charity, says he is "astounded" by the arrival of the belugas.

"Most aquariums have two, three or maximum five belugas. To have 30, that's unheard of," the biologist said.

"They're basically floating marshmallows when in captivity."

Holer has heard their arguments before and takes a somewhat laid-back approach to the environmental activists' stance.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but look at how many animals are kept in zoos that would otherwise be extinct," he said.

It's a lot more realistic for a child to be able to see and learn about the wildlife by viewing it up close and in person, Holer says.

"This is the best for of education you could have." Laidlaw argues people don't want to learn about animals, "rather they want to be entertained.

"There's no evidence that being able to view these animals has any educational impact," he said.

"Dinosaurs are not around in zoos, but ask any school kid and they'll be able to name off a bunch of them."

Although the majority of the belugas at Marineland were born in the wild, Marineland has managed to breed a number of the whales, with Eve and Gemini born this past summer.

Over the next few months, the eight new whales will be closely monitored by Marineland's team of veterinarians. For now, they will remain in an isolated area of the Arctic Cove playground while they get accustomed to their new habitat.

"The animals are looked after better than me," Holer said. "They get full blood tests once a month -I'm lucky to get one once a year."

None of the belugas have names yet, a task Holer leaves to the individual trainers.

But by the time he opens for business next May, Holer expects the belugas will be ready to entertain the multitude of visitors that flock throughout the summer to the park.

In the meantime, they'll spend the winter diving around in the three separate pools at Arctic Cove with the water temperature kept at 13 C year-round, similar to the waters of their natural habitat.