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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their destiny often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the authorities funds the upkeep of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something one caretaker learned directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that required building relationships of the marine predators.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency 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 open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and quirks in their personalities. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with opposing personalities.

“One whale selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park links to expected lifespan, but which activists say indicates the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and around the clock care than any human in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the park believed information of the death were leaked 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 despair. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s government official denied a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals are meant for the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience permit an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reflect a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances 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 remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a resolution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The future facility, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the near future.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|