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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, 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 spending their lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the authorities covers the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a job that involved building relationships of the marine predators.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which activists say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but in the past claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any human in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed information of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to put down even a single beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

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

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a request to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reflect a broader lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The future facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the plan, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|