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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

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

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so astounded by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with different natures.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and around the clock supervision than any human in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the death of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park suspected details of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and machinery.

“It cannot happen in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

She backs demands for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued situation in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the ocean, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The future site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|