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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the expense of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that required gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

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

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park links to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but in the past stated: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and constant care than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in early March following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility thought details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

“There’s no way in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs demands for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a ongoing situation in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements reflect a broader incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The future location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent answer for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the near future.

An official, leader of the initiative, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|