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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a tussle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near the famous falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the government covers the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart animals – something one caretaker observed personally.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that involved earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so extraordinary and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their dispositions. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a statistic which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the cessation. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but previously stated: “The whales … receive far better health care and constant attention than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in recent months following the demise of a beluga, an ailing beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected 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 Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and specialized tools.

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

She supports calls for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and dwindling staff.

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

“Allowing the request would have meant a ongoing life in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As society, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements indicate a wider lack of awareness of the facts 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 enclosed habitats and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As authorities struggle to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The planned location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “merely an experiment” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge represents a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the short term.

The project lead, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|