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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities funds the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer observed directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She developed a deep bond for two female belugas with different natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and constant attention than any individual in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park suspected particulars of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was let go not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in distress. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a request to export the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that whales belong in the wild, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a broader lack of awareness of the realities of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A proposed refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The planned location, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, head of the sanctuary project, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|