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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense debate over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the government funds the expense of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

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

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park links to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant care than any individual in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

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

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be transferred right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued situation in enclosure and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment 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 raised in confinement.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a resolution, proposals have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A planned protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The future location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could in time represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from animal displays and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales obtain from specialists, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|