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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the humans who see them each day.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and quirks in their characters. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far better veterinary services and around the clock attention than any human in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in early March following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility thought details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the request would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the wild, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reveal a broader lack of awareness of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has proven highly debated. The future location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a refuge reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the near future.

Charles Vinick, leader of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|