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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far better veterinary services and 24/7 care than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in recent months following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected information of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a request to transfer the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a broader lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a resolution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for local populations.

A planned sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|