Orphaned baby orca stranded in Canadian lagoon will be airlifted out to join new pod in the Pacific Ocean - after it spent weeks refusing to leave its dead mom's body

A two-year-old orca that has spent weeks circling a Canadian lagoon where its mother died will soon be airlifted out and released into the Pacific Ocean.

The baby whale's mother became beached on March 23, leaving rescuers scrambling to save the calf from the same fate.

Teams are now gearing up to strap the orphaned whale into a sling and use a helicopter to carry her out sea where she will hopefully find a new pod to join. 

The great escape is scheduled for two weeks and is crucial for the whale's survival - otherwise, the baby is likely to die from starvation.

A baby orca named kʷiisaḥiʔis (pronounced kwee-sahay-is) was stranded in a Canadian lagoon last month after a mistimed attack by her mom.

kʷiisaḥiʔis stayed by her mom's side after she breached during low tide in the lagoon and was left lying on her side. Rescuers attempted to douse the mom, named Spong, with water and roll her onto her belly, but after two hours she died.

The baby orca was left stranded with her 14-year-old pregnant mother who breached near the shore - dying two hours after they were spotted and despite attempts to save her.

The Ehattesaht First Nation tribes are part of the local community that met with Canada's fisheries department on Wednesday to discuss alternate options to rescue the whale and determined that airlifting her was the best option.

The team will strap the two-year-old calf into a sling connected to a helicopter, which will then carry the young orca to the sea before placing her in a netted pen until a pod is spotted.  

Local tribes named the baby orca kʷiisaḥiʔis (pronounced kwee-sahay-is), which means 'Brave Little Hunter.'

She and her mother, Spong, were discovered in a remote lagoon off the coast of northern Vancouver and experts believe they were stranded by a mistimed attack that left the mother wedged on her side, in a depression along the shore.

Although rescue teams tried to roll Spong onto her belly and doused her with water, she passed away two hours later.

kʷiisaḥiʔis has refused to leave the site where her mom died, even as rescuers have attempted to lure her out of the lagoon using calls to mimic the sound of her pod

The post mortem revealed that Spong, who was 14 years old, was pregnant when she died

Rescuers are now planning to airlift kʷiisaḥiʔis out of the lagoon using a sling attached to a helicopter. She will be placed in a netted enclosure in the ocean until her pod comes close enough that they can be reunited

Rescuers tried to lure the calf out of the lagoon using acoustic orca calls to mimic kʷiisaḥiʔis' pod and used metal oikomi pipes that reverberate in the water to herd whales.

Attempts to lure kʷiisaḥiʔis into the ocean during high tide were unsuccessful because of the calf's refusal to leave the site where her mom died. 

'Whales are connected for a lifetime with their family,' Janie Wray, CEO and lead researcher for BC Whales told The Guardian.

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'And I just can't stop thinking about what that calf is going through because the calf doesn't understand why its mother is no longer there for her.'

Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal coordinator with the fisheries department told the Vancouver Sun: 'I've been involved in a lot of whale rescues and other marine mammal rescues in this in terms of the complexities and variables with it being a tidal lagoon, an orphaned calf, a threatened species, I've never been involved in such a complex operation (that is) multivariable and really difficult.'

He continued: 'It's not, definitely not, going to be an easy road ahead. But everybody's optimistic and really working together to make this happen.'

He went on to add that kʷiisaḥiʔis remains active and doesn't appear to be malnourished.

Malnourished whales develop a peanut-shaped profile, called 'peanut head,' after losing their fat reserves, he told the outlet.

The fisheries department is looking at partially supplementing the orca's food and put out harbor seal meat on Tuesday which was gone, although no one saw kʷiisaḥiʔis eat it.

Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John spoke about the global support they have received surrounding their rescue efforts, after a meeting with the fisheries department. 

'Everybody's worried about the whale up and down the coast,' he said. 'This whole process has been to reunite it with its pod.'

Cottrell added: 'We look at this option as the most viable option to helping this whale,' said Cottrell during the meeting at the First Nation office.

'Everybody is rooting for us. If we don't attempt it, the calf's life is a worry.'