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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a sizeable but guardian-like companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their fate often ignores the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to put them down unless the federal government pays for the cost of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the 30 whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Scientists say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a whale caretaker, a job that required gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the outset, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Both transformed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales evolved against a background of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The facility did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a questionnaire, but previously claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any individual in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in recent months following the demise of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to put down. She said the park suspected particulars of the death were shared to the media and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official rejected a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments indicate a broader misunderstanding of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

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

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As authorities attempt to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of sustenance for local populations.

A proposed refuge in the province of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The future location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the location will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|