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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government funds the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that entailed earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their characters. She developed a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting personalities.

“Eve selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales developed against a background of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say indicates the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a inquiry, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far better medical attention and around the clock supervision than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in recent months following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park believed particulars of the death were disclosed to the media and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to put down even a single beluga would require “significant staff”, equipment and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, the nation’s government official denied a request to send the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing authorize an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reflect a wider misunderstanding of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for local populations.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The planned facility, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|