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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, problem solving and communal behavior point to they are deeply intelligent creatures – something one caretaker discovered personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with different natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Each transformed the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far superior veterinary services and 24/7 attention than any human in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected details of the incident were leaked to the media and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “immense manpower”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be removed right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official rejected a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a ongoing situation in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s statements indicate a wider misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a resolution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

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

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

An official, head of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|