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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an cute little “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and sways like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive marine mammals in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often overlooks the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the Canadian government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept warned to end their lives unless the authorities pays for the cost of their survival. Canada’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent three years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that required earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the nuances and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing temperaments.

“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “They transformed the way I understand relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a context of rising activist criticism to their confinement.

During her three years at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, 19 belugas have died at the park since recent years, a number which the facility attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say indicates the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly results of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a questionnaire, but earlier asserted: “The whales … receive far higher quality health care and constant supervision than any human in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was fired from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the death were shared to the press and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left her and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable manpower”, vehicles and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

She supports requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister rejected a bid to transfer the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the application would have meant a perpetual situation in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas are meant for the wild, not in tanks for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience permit an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a more general incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has proven highly debated. The future facility, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.

Different voices say the prospect of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the near future.

Charles Vinick, leader of the plan, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the well-being of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|