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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the authorities funds the cost of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent creatures – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

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

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a wider incorrect perception of the realities of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has been contentious. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable solution for a number of the whales.

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

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|