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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to put them down unless the government covers the upkeep of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker learned personally.

She spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious 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 highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with different natures.

“One whale accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far better medical attention and constant care than any person in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility suspected information of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

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

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reflect a wider misunderstanding of the circumstances of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

An official, director of the initiative, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and diet the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|