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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a deep bond for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far superior veterinary services and 24/7 supervision than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park thought particulars of the death were leaked to the media and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official turned down a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a more general misunderstanding of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

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

Others say the idea of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

An official, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|