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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a gentle spirit.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated discussion over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the people who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the expense of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, problem solving and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something Kristy Burgess discovered personally.

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a position that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

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

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a context of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a number which the facility links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the inadequate care in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the cessation. “Concrete is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they grab fragments and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far better medical attention and around the clock attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the incident were shared to the media and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ outcome has left her and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a one beluga would require “immense manpower”, vehicles and machinery.

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

Burgess backs calls for the whales to be transferred immediately from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a bid to export the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would prolong the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments reveal a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a answer, proposals have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of the Arctic – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received government approval, has been contentious. The future location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain positive that it could in time represent a long term answer for a number of the whales.

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

Others say the idea of a protected habitat reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable plan in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the site will simulate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|