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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

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

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the government pays for the expense of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer learned directly.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Developing those connections 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 reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in early March following the death of a beluga, an sick beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected particulars of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

She supports demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

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

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing life in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a wider incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has proven most controversial. The prospective site, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the initiative, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|