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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

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

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government covers the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for two female belugas with different personalities.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier stated: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and around the clock care than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility suspected details of the death were shared to the press and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any plans to put down even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a wider lack of awareness of the facts of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The future location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

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