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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a closed attraction, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to put them down unless the government funds the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are deeply intelligent mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

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

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open 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 idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing temperaments.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a context of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and constant care than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility suspected details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

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

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

“Allowing the request would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would prolong the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reveal a broader incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats 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 simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has proven most controversial. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a permanent solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

The project lead, head of the initiative, 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|