Stuck in a muddy field and surrounded by a herd of cows. That's the predicament one five-day-old seal orphan found herself in before a lucky rescue by a passing birdwatcher.

Cows looking puzzled at the seal pup in their field.

Posted by Natureland Seal Sanctuary on Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

"Celebration" the seal (as she's since been nicknamed) is now recovering at the Skegness Natureland seal sanctuary in the UK, getting lots of TLC and enjoying a diet of high-fat herrings. "Her main problem is that at only five days old she was orphaned and therefore had not fed for a while, [so] she had lost quite a lot of weight and was dehydrated," the sanctuary's director told a local media outlet.

Celebration in her pen at Skegness Natureland seal hospital.

Posted by Natureland Seal Sanctuary on Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

The seal's rescue is all thanks to birdwatcher Ian Ellis, who was passing through a nature reserve in Lincolnshire in England a few weeks ago when he noticed a herd of cows curiously examining something in a muddy puddle nearby. After investigating, he found the tiny seal pup stuck in the mud, with no sight of the mother. It's likely the youngster, a harbour seal, had been swept into a creek by tides from the sea, before waddling into the field of cows.

Ellis alerted Natureland and local wildlife officials, and the seal was taken into the sanctuary for treatment. She'll remain there until she's put on enough weight and is able to feed in the water by herself, at which point she'll be released back into the wild.

In the meantime, we're just enjoying watching her scarf down those herrings. 

 

Top header image: widdowquinn, Flickr