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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

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

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has denied that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart animals – something one caretaker learned personally.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a job that entailed earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and unique traits in their characters. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a background of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, died. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Structural materials is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 attention than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility thought particulars of the death were shared to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and machinery.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In recent months, Canada’s government official denied a proposal to send the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a continued life in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reveal a wider lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has proven contentious. The prospective site, which includes a large area of protected cove, is not yet built. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

An official, head of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|