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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the impassioned debate over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something a former trainer learned directly.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a role that involved building relationships of the marine predators.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales developed against a background of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility links to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 attention than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility suspected details of the incident were shared to the press and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She supports requests for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a request to send the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an export that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a broader incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of food for local populations.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has been contentious. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a long term resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the location will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|