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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a closed attraction, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to put them down unless the authorities funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned personally.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. 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 rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a background of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a number which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant supervision than any human in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility thought particulars of the death were disclosed to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.

“It’s impossible in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

She advocates for calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a ongoing situation in enclosure and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements 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 human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The future site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a workable approach in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|