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The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a worm. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense debate over their future often ignores the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial attraction near the famous falls where they are housed stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government covers the cost of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent creatures – something a former trainer discovered personally.

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

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She developed a deep bond for a pair of whales with contrasting personalities.

“One whale chose me. The other required effort,” she said. “They transformed the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a context of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the park attributes to age-related causes, but which activists say points to the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she observed directly effects of the closure. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they take pieces and swim around with pieces in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a request for comment, but previously stated: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and 24/7 care than any person in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in early March following the death of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park believed details of the death were disclosed to the media and she was let go soon after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in despair. She says the park’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” task, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “considerable manpower”, equipment and specialized tools.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official denied a bid to export the whales to an overseas location.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual situation in confinement and a reversion to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in clear conscience authorize an export that would continue the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reflect a wider lack of awareness of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in confinement and they will need human care for the foreseeable future,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials struggle to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. One proposal called for the belugas to be released into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of food for Inuit communities.

A planned protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which now received official endorsement, has proven highly debated. The prospective location, which includes extensive space of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a long term resolution for some of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the coming months.

An official, head of the plan, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and feeding regimen the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|