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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker discovered directly.

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

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand bonding.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility believed information of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reveal a wider incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A proposed protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent 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 experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|