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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their future often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are housed warned to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a role that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She developed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with different natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality veterinary services and around the clock attention than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the facility believed information of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a request to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the wild, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

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

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A suggested refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The planned site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the idea of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

An official, head of the plan, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|