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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are held stated it would consider to put them down unless the government funds the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and social skills indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker observed personally.

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

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their personalities. She formed a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and constant attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility believed details of the death were shared to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, trucks and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs demands for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued situation in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements indicate a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a resolution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The planned site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|