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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their destiny often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“Eve selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand results of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … get far superior veterinary services and around the clock attention than any human in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were shared to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a bid to export the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As society, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a broader lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a viable solution in the near future.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|