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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

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

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with different natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and constant care than any individual in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility suspected 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 her and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a broader incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The future site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Supporters remain positive that it could in time represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

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

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|