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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a defunct facility, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to put them down unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that involved earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the nuances and quirks in their characters. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with different personalities.

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

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which activists say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they grab fragments and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior health care and constant care than any individual in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility suspected particulars of the death were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a single beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess advocates for requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official turned down a request to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments indicate a more general misunderstanding of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has proven most controversial. The prospective location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will mimic the mental engagement and diet the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|