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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated discussion over their future often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the humans who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held warned to euthanize them unless the government pays for the expense of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer discovered personally.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a role that involved building relationships of the marine predators.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“Eve chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both changed the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … receive far higher quality veterinary services and around the clock attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the park in early March following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought information of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and machinery.

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

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

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

“Granting the application would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reflect a broader misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“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. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a solution, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has been highly debated. The future site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

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

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

An official, leader of the plan, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|