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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned personally.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their personalities. She formed a special affection for two female belugas with different temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and 24/7 supervision than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park believed details of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

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

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reveal a wider lack of awareness of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp 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. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a resolution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be most controversial. The future site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the site will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get 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|