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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that required building relationships of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both altered the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in recent months following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the incident were shared to the press and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an relocation that would prolong the situation these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments indicate a more general lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has proven contentious. The future site, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Advocates remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

An official, head of the initiative, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|