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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities pays for the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“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 open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with different personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly results of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and constant supervision than any human in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “significant manpower”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

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

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

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks indicate a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a resolution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has been contentious. The planned site, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|