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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the authorities pays for the expense of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

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

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a role that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the facility attributes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past stated: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and constant attention than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected information of the death were shared to the media and she was let go not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a request to export the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a broader lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The future facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|