British Columbia's rescue team is regrouping after the capture of a baby orca was thwarted in a remote lagoon

ZEBALLOS, B.C. – A second attempt to rescue an orphaned killer whale calf stranded in a remote British Columbia lagoon will not take place Saturday after an initial attempt to capture the young orca failed a day earlier.

An administrator working with the Ehattesaht First Nation on the whale rescue attempt said the team is regrouping and planning its next attempt to save the young orca, but said no date has currently been set for the next operation.

Rescuers said the orca evaded capture on Friday during the first attempt to entrap it with a net in the lagoon's shallows, secure it in a sling and carry it to open waters.

Paul Cottrell, marine mammal co-ordinator at the Department of Fisheries, said great efforts had been made to catch the calf but it was “very clever” and they had to rethink their strategies.

He said rescuers, including members of the Ehattesaht First Nation, Vancouver Aquarium staff and other experts, are not giving up and remain optimistic. They note that the calf is still in good health and swimming well.

The two-year-old whale has been alone in Little Espinosa Inlet, more than 450 kilometers northwest of Victoria, for three weeks since its pregnant mother became stranded at low tide and died on March 23.

The two whales entered the lagoon last month by swimming through a narrow and fast-flowing channel that connected them to the sea.

Attempts to get the calf to swim back through the shallow channel proved unsuccessful.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press