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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the federal government funds the expense of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Building up those relationships 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 shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior veterinary services and around the clock supervision than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility believed information of the incident were leaked to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

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

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable solution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|