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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government funds the cost of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and group interactions point to they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a job that required building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“One whale chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a background of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her time at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The park did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and around the clock attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in the spring following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility believed details of the death were leaked to the media and she was released soon after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be transferred right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reveal a wider lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have existed solely in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The prospective site, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the idea of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the location will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|