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Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty captive beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have become pawns in a tussle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the humans who see them each day.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government pays for the upkeep of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

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

She spent several years as a beluga trainer, a job that involved building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with different natures.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I view connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a background of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the attraction, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, passed away. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say reflects the substandard environment in which they were maintained.

The park did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far higher quality medical attention and 24/7 supervision than any individual in the Britain, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

The former employee was terminated from the facility in the spring following the death of Eos, an unwell beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park thought particulars of the death were shared to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s threat to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a one beluga would require “significant staff”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She backs requests for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In the autumn, Canada’s fisheries minister denied a proposal to send the whales to an overseas location.

“Granting the proposal would have meant a ongoing situation in captivity and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments reflect a broader lack of awareness of the realities of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

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

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials work to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a key source of sustenance for Inuit communities.

A suggested sanctuary in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be contentious. The planned site, which includes a large area of protected cove, is not yet built. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

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

Some experts say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from animal displays and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

An official, leader of the plan, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales get from specialists, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|