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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense discussion over their destiny often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government blocked the sale of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and social skills indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer observed personally.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that involved gaining confidence of the marine predators.

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

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the details and quirks in their personalities. She formed a particular love for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

“Eve chose me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They transformed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s relationship with the whales developed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her three years at the park, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say indicates the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but in the past stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality medical attention and constant attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in the spring following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to put down. She said the facility believed information of the incident were leaked to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the park’s ultimatum to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

She advocates for calls for the whales to be transferred right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a request to transfer the whales to China.

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the sea, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a broader lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The prospective site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among caretakers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

Charles Vinick, head of the plan, said the location will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|