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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the authorities funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with different temperaments.

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

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but previously claimed: “The whales … get far better health care and around the clock care than any human in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility believed details of the death were disclosed to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

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

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

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|