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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a closed attraction, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense debate over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the cost of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer observed first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over 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 even so surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for two female belugas with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far superior veterinary services and constant care than any human in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected particulars of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued life in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that whales should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a more general misunderstanding of the facts of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A proposed protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the idea of a refuge represents a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|