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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the authorities funds the expense of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable 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 details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales developed against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the cessation. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier stated: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and around the clock supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in the spring following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park believed details of the death were leaked to the press and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “considerable 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 transferred immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a broader lack of awareness of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has proven contentious. The prospective location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|