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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a closed attraction, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered personally.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected particulars of the death were disclosed to the media and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that marine mammals belong in the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reflect a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has been contentious. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, is not yet built. Supporters remain positive that it could in time represent a long term resolution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the near future.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|