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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent creatures – something a former trainer observed directly.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a job that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting temperaments.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far superior veterinary services and around the clock attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park thought details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

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

“Granting the request would have meant a ongoing life in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience permit an transfer that would prolong the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a more general misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the coming months.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|