Another Beluga Whale Dies in Captivity

She was the whale who inspired millions. And the first beluga born in a Canadian

aquarium. Qila, Vancouver Aquarium’s long term resident beluga, died last Wednesday. She was 21 years old.

While the cause of her death is still unknown, a life in captivity is hardly what this animal deserved. Unlike other captive marine animals who were captured from the wild and forced into captivity, Qila was born in the aquarium, meaning she never knew the life she could have had. Beluga whales.

Beluga whales are amazing creatures, typically found in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of our planet, who generally live together in pods. They have very advanced language, which includes a wide range of vocalizations: clicks, whistles, and clanging noises. They are highly intelligent and have even been known to mimic human voices! They play a critical role in balancing their native ecosystems by feeding on the most common marine species in the ecosystem, preventing them from becoming overabundant. While searching for food, belugas can dive to a depth of up to 1,000 feet, but have been known to dive down twice as far as that.

Sadly, belugas’ way of life in their wild habitat is under threat. Underwater noise pollution (driven by factors such as offshore drilling, sonar testing, and ship movement) seriously interferes with these animals’ ability to communicate, travel, hunt, and breed. Beluga whales are listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List, but a specific subspecies called the Cook Inlet beluga is listed as“critically endangered,” with a 50 percent chance of going extinct within the next ten years. And on top of these horrors, belugas, like Qila and her parents, are forced into a life in a fish bowl.

Given what we know about how captivity impacts marine animals, Qila’s life and untimely death could be linked to the lifetime she spent in an unnatural habitat. Some argue that captive-born animals grow used to their environment as they know nothing else, but to say that would betray the innate behaviors and habits these animals possess. Denying a wild creature their born-right to express themselves undoubtedly causes them a great amount of stress and frustration which can negatively impact their long-term health.

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