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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Another whale, 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 become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that involved gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over 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 highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their personalities. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both altered the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality medical attention and constant attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed particulars of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and specialized tools.

“It cannot happen in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess advocates for demands for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to China.

“Granting the application would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reflect a wider incorrect perception of the facts of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be contentious. The planned location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

An official, director of the plan, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|