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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities covers the expense of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a role that required earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the subtleties and unique traits in their personalities. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They transformed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but in the past stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility thought particulars of the death were leaked 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 anguish. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “immense staff”, equipment and machinery.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official rejected a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a wider misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has proven highly debated. The prospective site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

An official, leader of the initiative, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|