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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government pays for the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker discovered personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that required building relationships of the marine predators.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and unique traits in their characters. She cultivated a special affection for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales progressed 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, the orca, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the park links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and constant attention than any individual in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the incident were shared to the media and she was let go soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

She advocates for calls for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks indicate a wider misunderstanding of the circumstances of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, ideas have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The prospective location, which includes extensive space of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|