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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a deep bond for two female belugas with contrasting temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in confinement and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reflect a broader incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to grasp 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 comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has been highly debated. The future site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Supporters remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|