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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are housed warned to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker learned personally.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality veterinary services and around the clock supervision than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park thought information of the incident were shared to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing situation in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official commented. “As society, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would continue the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reflect a broader misunderstanding of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a solution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has been highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Supporters 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 “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|