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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their destiny often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the authorities covers the upkeep of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a special affection for two female belugas with opposing temperaments.

“Eve chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but earlier stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and 24/7 supervision than any human in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the facility in early March following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected information of the death were shared to the press and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a single beluga would require “significant manpower”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister denied a bid to export the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the minister commented. “As the public, we know that belugas are meant for the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a broader misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The planned location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain optimistic that it could in time represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|