A young couple were out for a walk when they made the grisly discovery on the Norfolk coast.
Lauren Gillies, 25, and her partner Matty Burgess, 29, were out walking on Great Yarmouth beach at 1pm yesterday when they spotted what they initially thought was a baby seal in need of rescuing.
However their discovery transpired to be far grislier than first thought.
Miss Gillies, from Great Yarmouth, said: 'Initially my reaction was 'Oh my God a baby seal I need to help it back in the sea'.
'And then as I got closer I realised it was chewed in half and it freaked me out and baffled me.
'We were stunned, honestly we just couldn't make out what had eaten it. We do often go beach walking but we've never come across this before!'
Although the exact cause or perpetrator of the incident, which resulted in the gruesome demise of the seal, is unknown- there may be a logical explanation.
Hollie Stephenson, animal carer at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, explained: 'The seal population has been booming in recent years and most likely the cause of this was an adult seal being possessive and marking their territory- particularly as this is now breeding season.
'They will do this by grasping the seal pup by the scruff of the neck and spinning them round in a spiral motion- I believe that this would be the most likely cause of this seal carcass.'
RELATED STORY: From letters in bottles to mermaids: 5 of the strangest things to wash up on Norfolk's beaches
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here