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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the heated controversy over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been closely studied by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government prevented the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to end their lives unless the government funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing natures.

“Eve chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Both transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the park links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park suspected details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

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

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

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

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a resolution, ideas have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has been highly debated. The future location, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term answer for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat represents a worldwide trend away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable approach in the near future.

An official, leader of the initiative, said the location will simulate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|