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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned personally.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that required earning the trust of the marine predators.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park links to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the closure. “Concrete is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior veterinary services and constant care than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

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

In the autumn, Canada’s government official denied a request to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments indicate a more general lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The prospective facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term answer for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|