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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their fate 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 see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer discovered directly.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different natures.

“Eve chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales progressed against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her tenure at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and around the clock care than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the park suspected particulars of the incident were shared to the press and she was let go not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a request to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing existence in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a broader misunderstanding of the realities of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the idea of a protected habitat represents a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|