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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the authorities covers the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer learned personally.

She spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She formed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with different temperaments.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a context of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant care than any human in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in the spring following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park believed details of the incident were leaked to the press and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued life in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reflect a more general lack of awareness of the realities of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The future facility, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|