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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a closed attraction, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their future often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions point to they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer observed personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different natures.

“One whale chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a background of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and constant attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in recent months following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed information of the death were disclosed to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a request to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the request would have meant a ongoing existence in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reflect a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a answer, proposals have been put forward, 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 important part of sustenance for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the possibility of a refuge represents a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a feasible solution in the coming months.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the site will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|