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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that entailed building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with different personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales progressed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a number which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … get far better medical attention and 24/7 attention than any person in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to put down. She said the park suspected particulars of the incident were shared to the media and she was let go not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, trucks and machinery.

“There’s no way in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

She backs calls for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s government official turned down a bid to export the whales to China.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reveal a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The planned facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for some of the whales.

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

Others say the prospect of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable solution in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the facility will mimic the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain 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|