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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government covers the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting personalities.

“Eve chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … get far superior medical attention and around the clock supervision than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the park believed particulars of the death were disclosed to the media and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s government official turned down a request to export the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would continue the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a broader incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a refuge represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will mimic the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|