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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a big but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the federal government covers the expense of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

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

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the details and quirks in their characters. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with opposing temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I view bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales evolved against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and constant care than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was terminated from the park in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park suspected information of the incident were disclosed to the press and she was let go soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and machinery.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be removed immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

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

“Granting the application would have meant a continued existence in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments indicate a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives 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 easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The planned facility, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

An official, director of the initiative, said the site will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|