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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an cute little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been caught in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated debate over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are kept warned to put them down unless the government pays for the cost of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has rejected that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Scientists say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something Kristy Burgess learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that involved building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so wonderful and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the nuances and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing personalities.

“Eve accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each changed the way I view relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

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

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but previously stated: “The whales … get far superior medical attention and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an unwell beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility thought details of the incident were leaked to the media and she was released shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in distress. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and shrinking team.

In the autumn, the nation’s government official denied a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a broader incorrect perception of the circumstances of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a solution, proposals have surfaced, 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 primary resource of nourishment for local populations.

A proposed sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of protected cove, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could eventually represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the initiative, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|