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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated debate over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the expense of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered directly.

She spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales progressed against a context of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her time at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park links to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far better health care and around the clock care than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in early March following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the incident were shared to the press and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, trucks and machinery.

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

Burgess advocates for requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In late September, the nation’s government official turned down a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a wider incorrect perception of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, 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 key source of sustenance for local populations.

A proposed protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The planned facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a long term answer for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the prospect of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

An official, head of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|