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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are deeply intelligent mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

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

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. 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 extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales progressed against a background of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park links to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and 24/7 supervision than any individual in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed 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 suspected particulars of the death were leaked to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and specialized tools.

“There’s no way in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

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

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued life in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a broader misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be most controversial. The future facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a long term answer for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a refuge reflects a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a viable solution in the near future.

An official, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|