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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are remarkably smart animals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that required gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far better medical attention and constant supervision than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed 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 details of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports demands for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official turned down a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments indicate a wider lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a solution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been highly debated. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the plan, said the facility will mimic the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|