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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but very loyal companion. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their destiny often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to euthanize them unless the government pays for the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s marine resources official has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are remarkably smart mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed personally.

Burgess spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that entailed gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the nuances and quirks in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for two female belugas with different natures.

“Eve accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales developed against a background of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her tenure at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one orca, the orca, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to expected lifespan, but which campaigners say reflects the poor conditions in which they were maintained.

The park did not admit visitors to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and constant supervision than any individual in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought details of the death were disclosed to the media and she was fired soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

Burgess backs demands for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official turned down a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to public entertainment,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that whales are meant for the ocean, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a more general misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have existed solely in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as simple as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested refuge in the region of eastern Canada, which now received regulatory clearance, has been contentious. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a long term resolution for a number of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the idea of a refuge indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the facility will replicate the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|