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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed warned to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the cost of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something Kristy Burgess discovered personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a role that required gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Establishing those connections 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 mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each altered the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s connection with the whales developed against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and constant care than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park thought details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any attempts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the request would have meant a continued life in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reveal a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

An official, head of the plan, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|