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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the federal government prevented the export of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to put them down unless the government covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and social skills point to they are highly cognitive animals – something a former trainer discovered first-hand.

She spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

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

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so amazed by the nuances and quirks in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

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

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s connection with the whales progressed against a background of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand results of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not respond to a inquiry, but in the past stated: “The whales … receive far higher quality veterinary services and constant attention than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the incident were leaked to the news outlets and she was let go soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

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

She backs calls for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a continued situation in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas should be in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in ethical standing approve an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks reveal a more general misunderstanding of the realities of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has been highly debated. The planned location, which includes a large area of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Supporters remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a sustainable resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|