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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales developed against a background of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The park did not open to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility thought particulars of the incident were shared to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to send the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a more general misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives 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 officials work to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for a number of the whales.

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

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable solution in the short term.

An official, director of the initiative, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|