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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense discussion over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to end their lives unless the authorities covers the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart animals – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both changed the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any individual in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the media and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to send the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would continue the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a broader incorrect perception of the facts of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has proven contentious. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent resolution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the near future.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|