VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Rescuers have been working frantically to free a baby orca that’s been trapped off Vancouver Island for almost two weeks.

The baby and her mother became trapped in water behind a sandbar on March 23. The mother died on the sandbar while trying to escape and attempts to lure the baby to open water haven’t been successful.

Paul Contrell is leading the rescue effort and tells KIRO News that it’s been frustrating.

“The broader support from the public interested in the outcome is really overwhelming and in a good way as well,” Contrell said. “But this doesn’t happen every day and it’s hopefully going to have a good outcome and we’re all working as hard as we can to have that good outcome, but it’s not guaranteed.” They’ve tried herding the young whale with sound and attracting it with recorded calls of its pod but haven’t had any luck.

The calf is a Biggs, or transient, whale that’s estimated to be about 2.5 years old and looks to be in good health. But its food sources are limited, and experts say orcas live in communities and cannot thrive in isolation.