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Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming little “ham sandwich”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but very loyal friend. Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “most affectionate” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and animal rights activists.

But those closest to the whales say the intense debate over their future often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been thoroughly researched by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to euthanize them unless the authorities funds the cost of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior suggest they are deeply intelligent creatures – something Kristy Burgess discovered first-hand.

Burgess spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a job that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

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

Burgess knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with contrasting temperaments.

“One whale accepted me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “They altered the way I perceive relationships.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her connection with the whales evolved against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to expected lifespan, but which advocates say points to 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 effects of the closure. “Structural materials is breaking off from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and navigate with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a inquiry, but in the past asserted: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and constant supervision than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in early March following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to put down. She said the park believed information of the death were disclosed to the media and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any attempts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She supports calls for the whales to be taken right away from the facility, with its deteriorating pools and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official denied a request to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a perpetual life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the minister stated. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing approve an relocation that would prolong the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s remarks reflect a broader incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As authorities attempt to find a solution, ideas have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be freed into the natural habitat of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of sustenance for local populations.

A planned refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received official endorsement, has proven most controversial. The prospective site, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent answer for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an trial” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary represents a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a viable approach in the short term.

An official, director of the initiative, said the facility will mimic the cognitive activities and nutrition the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the well-being of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|