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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed 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 most familiar with the whales say the intense controversy over their destiny often ignores the complexities 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 prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the government funds the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are remarkably smart animals – something Kristy Burgess observed directly.

She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a role that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the beginning, 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 wonderful and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“One whale chose me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They changed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her time at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with fragments in their jaws. 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 constant care than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility believed particulars of the death were disclosed to the press and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

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

In recent months, Canada’s government official denied a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the request would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As society, we know that belugas are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks indicate a wider incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a solution, ideas have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A planned refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The future site, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could eventually represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the near future.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|