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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense debate over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the federal government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the government pays for the expense of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a role that entailed earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so surprised by the details and quirks in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale chose me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both transformed the way I understand bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought particulars of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense staff”, trucks and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to send the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reveal a more general incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received official endorsement, has been contentious. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

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

Some experts say the idea of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the near future.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the location will mimic the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|