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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the authorities covers the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a role that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and unique traits in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s connection with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park links to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but previously stated: “The whales … obtain far better health care and around the clock care than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would prolong the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a more general misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely 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 ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|