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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to put them down unless the government covers the expense of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered directly.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the subtleties and unique traits in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with different natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales progressed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far better health care and 24/7 attention than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in early March following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed information of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to put down even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

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

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has been highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|