A Surprised Fisherman Rescues a Seal Pup from an English River After They Both Go for the Same Fish

An underweight gray seal pup that appears to have swum more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) inland was rescued after a surprise encounter with a fisherman on England’s Norfolk Broads — in what volunteers are calling one of the strangest wildlife rescues of the year.

The seal was discovered on Friday, Dec. 26 (also known as Boxing Day) in the village of Horning, located about 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the coast, when it surfaced beside a fisherman rowing on the River Bure. According to a Facebook post shared by Friends of Horsey Seals, the startled angler had just caught a fish and was attempting to place it into his net when the seal suddenly popped up and went for the same catch.

In the chaos, both the fish and the seal ended up inside the net.

“The fisherman ended up with both the fish and the seal in his keep net, at which point he called our rescue number,” the volunteer seal rescue team wrote in the post recounting the incident.

Rescuers believe the pup did not travel over land but instead swam inland from the coast — likely entering the River Bure at Great Yarmouth and going upstream to Horning. The journey would have totaled roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) by river.

When the rescue team arrived, they weighed the seal and found it was just under 26 lbs. (12 kilograms), significantly below the healthy weight range for a pup of its age, which typically falls between 66 and 99 lbs. (30 to 45 kilograms). Because of its condition, the seal was transported to RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre near King’s Lynn for further evaluation and care.

“This has to be one of the strangest seal rescue stories of the year,” Friends of Horsey Seals added in their post.

PEOPLE reached out to Friends of Horsey Seals for comment.

Volunteer Sally Butler, who took the rescue call shortly before 8 a.m., told the BBC that the rescue stood out not only for how far inland the seal had traveled, but also for the unusual circumstances that led to its discovery.

“He’d caught a fish and was trying to get it into his keep net, and the seal went in behind the fish,” Butler said. “As long as it starts feeding on its own, hopefully it will be OK.”

Butler confirmed with the outlet that Friends of Horsey Seals received 49 other rescue calls that day, noting that the holiday period is one of its busiest times of year. Thousands of gray seal pups are born along the nearby Norfolk coast around Sea Palling, Horsey and Winterton-on-Sea, confirmed Butler, with young seals often beginning to move on their own shortly after birth.

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While seals are known to travel upriver, rescuing one so far inland remains rare. The pup, now named Sunshine, is currently being fed a nutrient-rich fish soup at RSPCA East Winch to help rebuild its strength.