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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker learned directly.

She spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far superior health care and constant supervision than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility suspected information of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The future facility, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|