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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart animals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a position that involved building relationships of the marine predators.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and quirks in their characters. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both changed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the park links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and around the clock care than any human in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park believed details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks indicate a more general incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a important part of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has proven most controversial. The planned site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

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

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|