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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their future often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“Eve selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I perceive bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in recent months following the death of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park believed details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She supports calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing approve an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a wider lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A proposed refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has been highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a refuge represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

The project lead, director of the plan, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|