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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that involved earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with opposing personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and constant attention than any human in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in early March following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility thought details of the death were disclosed to the press and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official turned down a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a more general lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term solution for some of the whales.

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

Others say the possibility of a refuge reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the near future.

The project lead, head of the initiative, said the location will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|