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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the federal government pays for the expense of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something a former trainer observed personally.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a role that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and quirks in their personalities. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far better medical attention and around the clock attention than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the incident were leaked to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess advocates for calls for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s remarks reveal a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A planned protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has been contentious. The planned site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a long term answer for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

An official, leader of the plan, said the facility will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|