A seal pup rescued from a beach is recovering after complex surgery on a severe eye infection.
The pup, nicknamed Popeye, was just a few weeks old and malnourished when he was found on Crimdon beach near Hartlepool on 12 July.
A British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDLMR) team treated him at its North East Seal Triage Unit (Nest) before he began rehabilitation at the Tynemouth Seal Hospital, but his eye worsened and had to be removed.
The team said, after weeks of eating “lots of fish”, the pup’s weight had risen and he had more energy to “pester volunteers” visiting him and cleaning his pen back at Tynemouth.