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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their destiny often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are held warned to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker learned directly.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that required earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier stated: “The whales … get far better medical attention and around the clock supervision than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the incident were shared to the press and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She supports demands for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s government official turned down a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a more general misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven most controversial. The future site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

The project lead, head of the initiative, said the site will mimic the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|