An aircraft had to delay landing at an Irish airport after a seal was spotted on the runway.
Staff noticed the seal shortly before a flight was due to land at City of Derry Airport on New Year's Eve.
The airport is beside Lough Foyle and fire crews managed to remove the seal from the runway and place it back in the water.
Once the runway was cleared, the plane was able to land safely.
However, airport staff were amazed when the seal reappeared on the runway the following day.
The animal was again captured and taken to a seal sanctuary at the Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry, Co Down. The sanctuary was set up in 1989 to care for orphaned or injured seals.
A spokeswoman for Derry City Council, which manages the airport, said they were pleased the seal was now in expert hands.
"Only one flight was disrupted for a short period while the seal paid an unexpected visit to the airport runway and thanks to the firefighters and staff from Exploris, the seal is now safe and well in Portaferry. It is understood the windy and unseasonal bad weather was the cause of the unexpected visitor."
