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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the federal government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the beginning, 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 magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far better health care and 24/7 attention than any individual in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility thought details of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was fired soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a request to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a solution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for local populations.

A planned protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has been most controversial. The future location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the idea of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a workable approach in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|