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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an charming small “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion” – is a large but guardian-like companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the intense debate over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and social skills point to they are deeply intelligent animals – something a former trainer discovered personally.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. 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 surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for two female belugas with contrasting personalities.

“One whale selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

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

During her three years at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … obtain far better veterinary services and around the clock attention than any human in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the park staff had to euthanize. She said the facility suspected particulars of the death were disclosed to the press and she was fired soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and current and former trainers in distress. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any efforts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess advocates for demands for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In late September, the nation’s government official denied a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a perpetual existence in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in enclosures for our entertainment. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would continue the treatment these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reveal a broader incorrect perception of the circumstances of living conditions for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to grasp these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers attempt to find a answer, proposals have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the region of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has been highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain positive that it could in time represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

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

Others say the possibility of a protected habitat indicates a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the coming months.

An official, director of the initiative, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|