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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a defunct facility, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government funds the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

She spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that involved gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“One whale selected me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales developed against a background of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously stated: “The whales … get far superior veterinary services and around the clock care than any individual in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park suspected information of the death were leaked to the press and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and machinery.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to export the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the wild, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a more general incorrect perception of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a solution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The planned location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a sustainable resolution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a workable solution in the near future.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|