Freddie the seal has been put down after being savagely attacked by a dog.
The sad news broke after vets at the South Essex Wildlife Hospital battled for hours to save the celebrity pinniped's life.
It is the fourth time the young seal marine animal, who was previously rescued and made famous on ITV’s This Morning, has had to be saved – and just two weeks since his last mishap.
The ninth-month old seal was basking on the banks of the river Thames in west London when he was attacked, leaving him with deep lacerations to his neck and flipper.
Members of the public bravely raced to his rescue, pulling the dog away, and protecting him until vets arrived.
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X-rays revealed Freddie suffered a broken bone, dislocation as well as damage to his joints, ligaments and nerves.
"That made it impossible to treat and return him to the wild," a British Divers Marine Life Rescue statement said.
"We contacted a number of marine mammal veterinarians in the UK and the Netherlands, including an orthopaedic surgeon, and sadly based on their experiences the decision is that he needed to be euthanised for his welfare.
"We would be unable to release a seal back into the wild with one flipper, if amputation was an option, as we have a firm policy on not putting animals into captivity, and the seal's welfare must be put first and foremost."
BDMLR's CEO Alan Knight said Freddie was the victim of a "ferocious attack" and said the team was devastated to hear about the seal's passing.
He added: "We hope that his story will go a long way to helping educate people to look up and follow the appropriate guidelines for how to behave respectfully around wild animals and not cause disturbance or worse to them."
Today Freddie was being treated at the rescue centre in Essex after a 40-mile emergency dash by a fire brigade boat from Barnes to Tilbury.
A spokesperson for the wildlife hospital had announced that the seal's prognosis was "extremely poor" this evening.
"Freddie's flipper is fractured and the joint dislocated," they said.
"Seals do not take anaesthetic well as they have a dive reflex and don't breath. Although an attempt could be made to pin the fracture, it would be impossible to immobilise the limb to give it time to heal.
"More challenging is the dislocation which is not repairable. The flipper is very swollen and despite antibiotics and pain relief the seal is clearly very uncomfortable and reluctant to eat.
"We suspect the infection is spreading and with the other bite wounds to his body he is very miserable.
"At this stage we believe the only ethical and fair option we have is to end his suffering."
The spokesperson added: "We know this is a well loved seal from the amazing response we have had to his story but he is not the only seal we have had to care for that this has happened to," the spokesperson continued.
"Please folks do not go near seals and always, always, keep dogs on leads and under control."
The attack, which took place on Sunday, has been reported to police.
Passing vet Rachel Kirby, a cyclist and wildlife photographer Lloyd Arnold were the first to try dragging the dog off.
Kirby received a bite on her thigh and one on her hand during the struggle and Arnold had to go to A&E with a bleeding mouth after he was headbutted by the traumatised seal as it tried to escape.
Dog walker Runa Bousquet was passing by and telephoned for help.
She said: “It literally clamped its jaws onto the poor seal and didn’t let go.
“The poor seal was very distressed, twisting and turning its flippers.
The latest ordeal comes just a few weeks after Freddie was hauled from the Thames at Teddington Lock after a fisherman’s lure was caught in his mouth, threatening his life.
A 15-strong team, led by TV vet Scott Miller and the BDMLR, used an 80ft net and rafts as they coaxed the common seal into a lock and heaved him out.
His flipper tag number revealed his dramatic history – including his first two rescues in Europe.
