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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a closed attraction, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to put them down unless the authorities funds the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

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

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales developed against a background of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the death were disclosed to the press and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official turned down a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a wider lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for some of the whales.

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

Others say the idea of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.

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