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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

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

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far superior veterinary services and constant supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park thought details of the incident were shared to the media and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and machinery.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

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

“To approve the request would have meant a continued situation in enclosure and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a broader lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, ideas have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has shown to be contentious. The future facility, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the plan, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|