He's got some hope now, and that's going to make all the difference.

The Orca expert working with a baby whale that's been separated from his pod, is cautiously optimistic he'll make a full recovery.

MORE: Baby orca separated from pod in Bay of Plenty

Dr Ingrid Visser said after three weeks swimming against strong currents on his own in the Bay of Plenty, baby orca-Bob has been removed and put in a small holding pool for some R&R.

"One of the first things that he did when we got him into the rescue map was just immediately stop swimming, and you could just see him sigh with relief, and now he really likes resting on our knees."

Dr Visser said he's lapping up the attention, as orca's rely on tactile attention.

"Very relaxed, he's very alert, he's watching people, and the team are going to re-hydrate him and we want to wait for his system to start working again, we can't feed him immediately."

She said the Bay of Plenty community has rallied - delivering food to volunteers working with the whale - and it's meant he's now able to be treated in intensive care.

Dr Visser said once he's strong enough he can be transferred to a holding pen in the ocean, and then it's hoped he'll be reintegrated with wild orca.