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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, public officials and animal rights activists.

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

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities pays for the expense of their care. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that involved building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and quirks in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting natures.

“One whale chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I understand bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, Kiska, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park links to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the shutdown. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with fragments in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not reply to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far better veterinary services and constant supervision than any person in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park believed particulars of the incident were leaked to the press and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “considerable personnel”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to send the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official stated. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reflect a broader misunderstanding of the facts of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a resolution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a important part of sustenance for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a permanent resolution for some of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a workable plan in the coming months.

The project lead, leader of the plan, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|