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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government funds the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart animals – something one caretaker learned directly.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“Eve accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but previously stated: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and around the clock supervision than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility thought information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks reveal a wider incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The planned location, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could in time represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable plan in the near future.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|