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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense controversy over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Experts say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far better veterinary services and around the clock supervision than any person in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in distress. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and heavy equipment.

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

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

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a wider lack of awareness of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The planned facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable solution in the short term.

The project lead, leader of the initiative, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|