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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

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

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their future often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer learned personally.

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

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity 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 trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting temperaments.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and constant attention than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park thought particulars of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

Burgess advocates for demands for the whales to be removed promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a broader misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has been contentious. The planned site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable solution 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 untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will mimic the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|