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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often overlooks 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 national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are held warned to end their lives unless the government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and communal behavior suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far superior veterinary services and 24/7 attention than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in early March following the death of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the park thought information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

“There’s no way in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a more general lack of awareness of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a resolution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a refuge indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

An official, leader of the plan, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|