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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the government funds the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the nuances and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and constant care than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in recent months following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the media and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty 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 negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a wider lack of awareness of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The future site, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

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

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|