Good Samaritans from the USA have helped a persistent grey seal after it came ashore several times during a snowstorm.
The little one was reportedly spotted by snow plough crews while they were cleaning fresh snow off the roads in the town of Cape Elizabeth, in Maine, USA, at around 1.30pm on Monday, 23rd January.
One of the employees then rushed to alert the local police department and told them he had seen “what appeared to be a seal scurrying through the neighbourhood.”
Following the call, an officer responded to the area and detected the baby seal in the roadway “enjoying the hush of a snowy winter night”.
Cape Elizabeth Police Department said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “The officer was able to capture the seal and bring it to Fort Williams Park where it was released back into the ocean.”
But by Tuesday morning (23rd January) the seal had once again made his way off the beach and was reportedly travelling the park through another roadway.
Aided by a local, another officer then managed to recapture the seal and released it to the beach once more.
But then cops received another notice that the animal was exploring Fort Williams Park for the third time, after which they found it approximately an hour later.
The little seal was finally picked up by crews from the department of Marine Mammals of Maine and brought to their centre for an assessment.
The department said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “His exam indicated he was recently weaned from his mom and unfortunately has been having a tough time on his own.
“He is underweight and will remain at our hospital for much-needed nutrition and care until ready for release.
“He is the second seal from Cape Elizabeth currently at our centre.
“After all his adventures over the last 24 hours, he has spent the entire day sleeping and suckling his flippers.”
The rehabilitation centre stated that the little one will need extensive support to get him back to the wild again.
In addition, they asked people to support their Facebook fundraiser through donations in order to help them feed it.
Images showing the adorable seal touched the hearts of many social media users after they were posted on Marine Mammals of Maine’s page.
Facebook user Stina Marie said: “Omg he is so adorable.”
Another user named Janna Martin commented: “Thank you for helping him!! He knew he needed help and would get someone’s attention.
“Sweet baby get healthy so you can swim free.”
Then user April Totman added: “I was following this during the day! Glad you have him!! I just messaged you guys – wanting to donate ice machine but Amazon won’t let me!”
The post was shared over 1,300 times after it was shared on Tuesday, 24th January.