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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near the famous falls where they are held warned to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that entailed building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She developed a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far superior veterinary services and constant care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in early March following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess advocates for demands 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 rejected a request to export the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a perpetual existence in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements indicate a more general incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a answer, proposals have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a feasible solution in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|