An orphaned killer whale calf that had been trapped for weeks in a tidal lagoon on Vancouver island on Friday swam out on her own, a local Indigenous tribe said.

The Ehattesaht First Nation had watched over the orca calf they named Brave Little Hunter after her pregnant mother died on a rocky beach in late March.

They, along with fisheries officials, made several unsuccessful attempts to catch and release her in open waters.

Attempts reportedly included using a sling to transport her, playing recorded killer whale vocalisations to lure her out of the remote lagoon, and even serenading her with violin music.

Then suddenly at 2.30am local time Friday, during high tide on a starry night, she “swam past the sand bar her mother passed away on, under the bridge, down Little Espinosa Inlet and onto Esperanza (Inlet) all on her own,” the Ehattesaht First Nation said in a statement.