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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“Eve accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and around the clock attention than any person in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in the spring following the death of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the media and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued life in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reveal a more general misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a solution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has been contentious. The prospective location, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a refuge reflects a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|