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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are housed warned to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker observed personally.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a role that required building relationships of the marine predators.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the nuances and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting personalities.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic 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 admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past claimed: “The whales … get far better veterinary services and 24/7 attention than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months 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 shared to the press and she was released not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for local populations.

A planned sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The future site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a protected habitat represents a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|