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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a closed attraction, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the federal government funds the expense of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each altered the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality veterinary services and constant attention than any human in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park thought particulars of the death were disclosed to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reflect a broader lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has been contentious. The prospective location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the possibility of a protected habitat represents a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the near future.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|