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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the heated discussion over their destiny often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. 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 extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … get far superior health care and around the clock attention than any human in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected particulars of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was fired not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and machinery.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be transferred immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

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

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience permit an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a broader lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for local populations.

A planned refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has shown to be contentious. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution 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 trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|