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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the federal government covers the cost of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and group interactions point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, 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 care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each altered the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the park links to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and around the clock care than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, the nation’s government official denied a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the request would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a more general lack of awareness of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of food for local populations.

A planned refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The prospective site, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|