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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government disallowed the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something a former trainer discovered directly.

Burgess spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a job that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She formed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and around the clock supervision than any human in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the park suspected information of the death were shared to the press and she was fired not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reflect a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea 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 planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has been most controversial. The prospective site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the prospect of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

An official, head of the initiative, said the location will simulate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|