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

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the federal government covers the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive animals – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each transformed the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 care than any person in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought particulars of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any plans to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a request to export the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a more general incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, ideas have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be contentious. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent solution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the near future.

The project lead, director of the plan, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|