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The trouble with whales is they don't use calendars and don't file travel plans.

That means Vancouver Aquarium and Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff are in hurry-up-and-wait mode as they try to plan their moves to reunite Luna the lonesome orca with his pod.

Everyone is clinging to hopes that four-year-old Luna can be led out of Nootka Sound, where he has spent almost three years, at the precise time his family is within auditory range.

But as the days tick by, the likelihood increases that L Pod will show up in Juan de Fuca Strait. Once the killer whales are seen off southern Vancouver Island, hopes of a natural reunion die and Plan B -- capture, net pen and truck down island -- kicks in.

Clint Wright, Luna logistics co-ordinator for Vancouver Aquarium, said a natural reunion is a long shot because of the expanse of water where L Pod could be hanging out.

"It's like being told your relatives are travelling from Seattle to Vancouver, so you stake out the highway to try and catch them going by," he said.

"We really want it to happen, but the chances are really slim."

In the meantime, a building on the former mill site in Gold River has been set up for the scientists and capture experts, and DFO Gold River supervisor Ed Thorburn did another trial run Monday to ensure Luna would follow his boat to the mouth of Nootka Sound if his family is spotted.

Thorburn has also experimented with leading Luna from Mooyah Bay, where he is spending most of his time, to Gold River, where the net pen will be set up.

Luna was willing to follow, but that does not mean he will be convinced that a net pen is a fun place to be, Wright said.

Once a decision is made to go ahead with the capture, several days likely will be spent trying to persuade the 1,800-kilogram whale to swim into the net pen, he said.

If Luna refuses to go in of his own free will, DFO and the aquarium have some hard decisions.

The next step is a tail rope. But there are fears of possible injuries, and much will depend on how Luna is reacting.

"Any technique has to be as safe as possible for the crew and for Luna," Wright said.

"There's no guarantee at the end of this that we are going to end up with a whale in a net ready to transport south."

There are two reasons the operation could be called off -- either because the aquarium does not receive the almost $100,000 it still needs to pay for the operation or if it is decided the orca cannot be captured and transported safely.

One problem with fundraising is that people are reluctant to donate to the expensive relocation plan if there is still a chance that the natural reunion might work, said Wright.

He hopes donations will start to pour in if L Pod is sighted near southern Vancouver Island.

Marilyn Joyce, DFO marine mammal co-ordinator, said plans are progressing for the physical move.

"We would like to be in a position to go ahead by the beginning of next week," she said.

Although some Gold River residents and members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation want Luna left in Nootka Sound if a natural reunion is not possible, the busy boating season is just around the corner and Luna is a danger to boaters, Joyce said.

"He really needs some other whales so he can let go of his boat addiction."

Once he is released in the Strait of Juan de Fuca Strait, an intensive monitoring and radio tag program kicks in.

Stewardship boats will intercept any vessels that get close to the whale and there will be intense education about the harm done by interacting with the orca.

Ken Balcomb of the Centre for Whale Research in Friday Harbour said groups are ready to monitor Luna.

"We'll make sure we know where he is, and if he's bothering boats we'll try and extract him," he said.