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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, public officials and advocacy groups.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling attraction near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the government covers the cost of their care. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive creatures – something one caretaker discovered directly.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that involved gaining confidence of the marine predators.

“Building up those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with different personalities.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both transformed the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s interaction with the whales evolved against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, passed away. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park attributes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say indicates the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and around the clock attention than any individual in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the park staff had to put down. She said the facility suspected details of the incident were shared to the media and she was released soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

Burgess supports calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to send the whales to China.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing authorize an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s comments reflect a more general misunderstanding of the realities of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The society needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a resolution, suggestions have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of the Arctic – where whales are a important part of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A proposed sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has been highly debated. The future location, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term resolution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Others say the idea of a sanctuary represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|