At just one week old this seemingly abandoned seal pup has much to be grateful for after she was rescued in west Norfolk and received a successful life-saving operation.

Eastern Daily Press: xxx_Pup undergoes lifesaving surgery at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary_Picture.submittedxxx_Pup undergoes lifesaving surgery at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary_Picture.submitted (Image: Archant)

Christened 'Bonnie' by rescuers at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, the female common seal pup was found alongside another uninjured pup on Old Hunstanton beach.

Seal care expert Kieran Copeland, said: 'It was not until we got her back to the Sanctuary for a detailed examination that we discovered her damaged jaw. She probably got in the way of an unfriendly adult and got bitten on the chin. Hers is a particularly nasty injury, and one we've not come across before in many years of seal rescue, but we are hopeful she will make a full recovery.'

Bonnie is just one of 11 rescued pups receiving care at the sanctuary in what has been one of its busiest starts to the common seal breeding season.

Experienced veterinary surgeon Chris Tansley from the Coastal Veterinary Group in Snettisham performed the delicate procedure to wire the broken pieces of her jaw to help them knit back together.

'I have seen similar injuries in cats, usually after they've had bad falls or been hit by a car, but this was the first time I'd come across it in a seal pup,' he said.

'Luckily it was a single clean break and it took only about half an hour to wire the two sides together.

'Provided the team at the Sanctuary can get her feeding well and building her strength then I am sure she will do well.'

The little pup, who is too young to eat whole fish and is being tube-fed with special fish soup, is now under close observation in her own cubicle in the sanctuary's indoor hospital.

Do you have an animal rescue story? Email sophie.biddle@archant.co.uk