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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities disallowed the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled facility near the famous falls where they are kept stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent animals – something Kristy Burgess observed directly.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each changed the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a background of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the park links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and navigate with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and around the clock attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in the spring following the death of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be taken immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that whales should be in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a wider incorrect perception of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The future facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Proponents remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable approach in the near future.

An official, head of the plan, said the site will mimic the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|