Leaving a trail of blood from its flippers, the seal rescuer quickly but carefully restrains it to do a proper examination and tend the wounds.
"He’s a big ‘boy’,” admits Sophie Sippetts as she inspects its claws before the seal is coaxed into a holding pen.
The latest arrival at Natureland Seal Sanctuary weighed in at a healthy weight of 30 kilos but required all the expertise of the well-experienced team to be led safely into the pen for further observation and treatment.
Sophie and her colleague Eden Willmott had answered the call from Chapel Point, where beach users had first spotted the seal not moving and raised concerns.
"It hadn’t moved for about an hour and didn’t really struggle when we went to help it,” said Sophie, a zoology graduate who has been at Natureland doing her ‘dream job’ for two months.
"Recent high winds may have left it exhausted because the sea has been quite choppy,” explained director Matt Yeadon, who had popped in to help settle the new arrival.
"It may have injured its claws struggling on to the beach.”
Easter has been an unusually busy period for the Seal Hospital.
Earlier we had met fellow director Daisy Yeadon, who explained normally they would be in a quieter period for rescues, with most pups arriving early in the year after being born in November.
"With the latest arrival the hospital is full with nine pups and we have 11 in the rearing pool, including a very rare black melanistic seal call Blackberry,” said Daisy.
"They go in there after recovering in the hospital until they reach an ideal weight of around 30 kilos and are ready for release back into the North Sea.
"It’s normally quiet in the hospital by this time of the year but the sea has been quite rough because of the high winds and pups are coming onto the beach exhausted.
"There also seems to be a lot of lungworm around which affects their breathing and that may also be another reason for the rise in numbers.”
Fortunately for the team who rely on visitors to pay for the upkeep of all of the animals at the sanctuary, visitor numbers have also been up over Easter.
"On Easter Saturday we had 900 visitors and we would normally expect around 600 at that time of the year,” explained Daisy.
"It’s been a massive help because we rely on the income from visitors to pay for the hospital and the upkeep of all our animals.
"At the moment we are fine – we don’t have money for any major projects but we have enough to cover our costs and care for the animals.”
It’s been a tough few years for the family-run sanctuary, which remains a popular destination for next generation families.
Originally founded in 1965 by John Yeadon, when it was opened by the late Princess Margaret, the attraction is still run by the Yeadon family, with the help of a staff of six keepers.
Before Natureland was opened there were butterfly houses, known even then as the 'Floral Palace', an aquarium and a gift shop at the site on North Parade, which was run by an investment company based in Manchester.
The Floral Palace remains a big attraction and has just had a delivery of 100 stunning blue Morpho butterflies. The glasshouses which also feature tropical birds contain many exotic plants, including cacti from the US, Mediterranean shrubs and banana plants.
As well as the seal sanctuary and Floral Palace, there is also a small zoo with African penguins, crocodiles, guinea pigs, a cheeky goat named Archie who has a taste for cheques that are donated, tarantulas, snakes, terrapins and scorpions.
Having regularly been featured on television, including Blue Peter, more recent landmark moments include being featured on Countryfile Winter Diaries in 2017.
In April 2018, Natureland celebrated the milestone of rescuing their 800th seal. After decades of dedication to seal rescue and rehabilitation, the major event witnessed by Lincolnshire World saw pups Alija and Ellie, who were underweight and sick when rescued in the February, being released into the North Sea after being nursed back up 30 kilos.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic shut the sanctuary’s doors plunging it into a period of uncertainty regarding how it could cover the £120,000 a year needed to cover its rescue work.
In June 2020, Natureland launched a £25,000 JustGiving appeal and Amazon wish list and was forced to rely on the generous support of its supporters to survive.
Staff were also furloughed as the sanctuary did not qualify for a government grant to help it through the period was closed.
Fortunately, after one of the busiest seasons yet rescuing 69 baby seals, they had entered a quiet period.
A tough winter followed, with the additional problem of a national bird flu pandemic, but they finally managed to re-open their doors in April 2021 and enjoyed a busy summer.
Since then they have been able to continue there work rescuing an average 60 to 70 seals a year – but this year they are expecting to be busier than ever..
"It’s only April and we are already at our 62nd rescue,” said Daisy. “Blackberry is now in the rearing pool and always comes to the front for fish.
"He’s very special because he’s so rare and he’s doing really well.
”Next week we are also hoping to re-introduce the African penguins back into their pool outside having been in quarantine in the Floral Palace because of another bird flu pandemic.
"Things are looking good at the moment.”