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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a large but fiercely protective companion. Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a gentle spirit.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their future often ignores the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who see them each day.

After the Canadian government blocked the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled attraction near the famous falls where they are held warned to put them down unless the federal government funds the upkeep of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior point to they are highly cognitive mammals – something a former trainer observed personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a position that involved building relationships of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting natures.

“One whale accepted me. The other required effort,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand bonding.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her three years at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one orca, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which activists say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes consequences of the closure. “Concrete is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and move about with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not reply to a request for comment, but earlier claimed: “The whales … get far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was dismissed from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the facility’s threat to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any attempts to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “considerable personnel”, equipment and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to send the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a reversion to display for amusement,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that marine mammals should be in the wild, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience approve an relocation that would prolong the conditions these belugas have suffered.”

But the former trainer said the official’s remarks indicate a wider incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas born in captivity.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A suggested protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which has received regulatory clearance, has been most controversial. The planned location, which includes extensive space of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ fate.

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a workable approach in the coming months.

The project lead, director of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a much larger area. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|