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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the government pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She developed a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each altered the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility links to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

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

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in recent months following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility thought information of the death were disclosed to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In late September, the nation’s government official denied a bid to send the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a wider incorrect perception of the realities of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The planned site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for a number of the whales.

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

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|