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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She formed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both transformed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her tenure at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and constant care than any individual in the Britain, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As society, we know that whales should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for local populations.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The future location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, is not yet built. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable solution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|