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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

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

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker learned personally.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a position that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting personalities.

“One whale accepted me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility links to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park thought information of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and other caretakers in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for demands for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a bid to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the application would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a broader incorrect perception of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities work to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The future location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

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

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat represents a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a viable plan in the near future.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|