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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

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

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and around the clock attention than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility thought information of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was fired soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

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

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a bid to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a more general lack of awareness of the facts of existence 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 constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has been highly debated. The future site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the mental engagement and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|