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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a tussle between a defunct facility, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense debate over their future often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to put them down unless the authorities funds the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent mammals – something one caretaker discovered directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

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

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I perceive bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock supervision than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in the spring following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed details of the death were disclosed to the press and she was fired not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, trucks and machinery.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has proven most controversial. The planned facility, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a long term answer for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|