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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an cute small “playful character”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but very loyal friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have been caught in a tussle between a shuttered park, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their destiny often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near the famous falls where they are kept warned to put them down unless the government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills suggest they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer learned first-hand.

She spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a role that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nonetheless astounded by the details and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for a pair of whales with different temperaments.

“Eve selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Both changed the way I view bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales progressed against a context of growing public opposition to their confinement.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and around the clock care than any human in the Britain, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in the spring following the death of a beluga, an unwell beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility believed information of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant staff”, trucks and specialized tools.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be taken right away from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.

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

“Granting the application would have meant a continued existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official stated. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the sea, not in tanks for our enjoyment. I could not in good conscience authorize an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have suffered.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reflect a more general lack of awareness of the facts of living conditions for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a answer, proposals have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a key source of sustenance for local populations.

A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which has received regulatory clearance, has proven highly debated. The prospective site, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a sustainable answer for a number of the whales.

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

Different voices say the idea of a sanctuary represents a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

Charles Vinick, leader of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|