Orphaned baby orca escapes to the open ocean - a month after refusing to leave ... trends now
A two-year-old orca that spent more than a month circling a Canadian lagoon where its mother died has finally escaped into the open ocean.
Wildlife officials spotted the two whales in March, as the baby refused to leave its mother that had died on the beach.
Rescuers were in a race against time to free the whale that could have starved to death in the lagoon and had attempted to lure her out to open sea using whale calls and a sling.
But in the middle of the night, the whale named 'Brave Little Hunter' made her way out to sea of her own accord when the high tide reached the area.
The baby orca, Kwiisahi?is which means Brave Little Hunter, escaped the Canadian lagoon (pictured) where she's been stranded since March 23
Kwiisahi?is swam into an inlet on Friday morning, leaving the lagoon behind (pictured) more than a month after she became stranded
Rescuers have hoped for weeks that the baby orca would leave the lagoon on her own and at about 2:30 a.m. on Friday she swam out of the lagoon at high tide, reaching the Espinosa Inlet that would lead her to the open sea.
The Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations tribal members said the calf chose a 'clear and glass-calm, star-filled night' to swim out of the lagoon and under a bridge to the inlet.
'Today the community of Zeballos and people everywhere are waking up to some incredible news and what can only be described as pride for the strength this little orca has shown,' Ehattesaht Chief Simon John told CBC News on Friday.
He said the calf, named Kwiisahi?is (pronounced kwee-sahay-is) which means Brave Little Hunter, started eating the seal meat provided by the tribe last week and rescuers hoped she would follow a trail of food they left to lead her out of the lagoon.
Kwiisahi?is swam in circles near her mother's body when she died two hours after becoming beached on a Canadian lagoon (pictured)
Kwiisahi?is was seen playing near the bridge the night before she escaped the lagoon, and John told Coast Mountain News that he has high hopes for her to reintegrate into the sea.
'I think she's really healthy,' he told the outlet. 'There's a lot of footage out there
