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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a closed attraction, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker learned personally.

Burgess spent several years as a whale caretaker, a position that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They altered the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales developed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far better health care and around the clock supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility believed particulars of the incident were shared to the press and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the wild, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience permit an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements indicate a more general lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The planned site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could ultimately represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|