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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense 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 humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a background of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and constant care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in early March following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed particulars of the death were shared to the media and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to put down even a single beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and machinery.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, the nation’s government official turned down a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a wider lack of awareness of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely 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 simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The future site, which includes a large area of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the short term.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|