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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are held stated it would consider to end their lives unless the authorities funds the upkeep of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that involved building relationships of the marine predators.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different personalities.

“One whale chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each altered the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock care than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility believed particulars of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

“It cannot happen in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a broader incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a resolution, ideas have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The future site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a refuge represents a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the plan, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|