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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near the famous falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the authorities funds the expense of their survival. The nation’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’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent mammals – something Kristy Burgess discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … obtain far better health care and 24/7 care than any human in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought particulars of the death were shared to the press and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be transferred right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In late September, Canada’s government official turned down a proposal to export the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks reflect a more general lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance 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 authorities attempt to find a solution, suggestions have surfaced, 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 primary resource of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The planned facility, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

An official, head of the plan, said the location will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|