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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the authorities funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer learned personally.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a role that required building relationships 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 cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park links to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far superior health care and constant attention than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the death were disclosed to the press and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

“There’s no way in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

She advocates for demands for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In late September, Canada’s government official denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a broader misunderstanding of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The future facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a permanent solution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|