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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated debate over their fate often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the federal government blocked the export of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the federal government covers the expense of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for two female belugas with opposing natures.

“Eve accepted me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each changed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which activists say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

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

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and 24/7 care than any human in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in the spring following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected particulars of the incident were disclosed to the media and she was fired not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reveal a more general incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers work to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received government approval, has been most controversial. The prospective location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the prospect of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, head of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|