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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a position that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a deep bond for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both changed the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to natural mortality, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The park did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far superior health care and around the clock attention than any individual in the Britain, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense staff”, vehicles and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reflect a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been contentious. The prospective facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the plan, said the site will replicate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|