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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the authorities pays for the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Establishing 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 reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“One whale chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a background of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a number which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far superior medical attention and constant supervision than any human in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

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

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued life in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the wild, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been most controversial. The future location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term resolution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the idea of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|