A dying seal spent its final moments in terror after a crowd hurled stones and took selfies next to it.
Norfolk cops were called to a Great Yarmouth beach last week to protect the seven-foot mammal from cruel beachgoers.
But despite their best efforts, the creature died just hours later.
While some people lobbed rocks at the dying animal, other parents made their kids pose just a foot away to take pictures.
Police has to "constantly" tell people to leave the dying creature alone, according to reports.
After being pelted, the sea mammal took itself back into the sea, where it likely died, animal protection agencies said.
Dan Goldsmith, chairman of Marine and Wildlife Rescue, said: "It's absolutely exacerbating.
"People were picking up stones and throwing them at the seal. Whether that was to get it to move I don't know.
"Police were constantly needing to tell people to move back - they were getting within a foot of the seal.
"People don't appreciate that it should be left to rest.
"They just want to get photos and put their children there to get pictures with it.
"At around 4.30pm the seal took itself back to the water's edge and was taken by the tide - it may well have died."
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said the animal protection charity was "shocked" to hear the reports.
They added: "It’s really important that members of the public stay away from the seal as getting close is likely to cause this very poorly animal a lot of distress.
“We know that seals in the wild are an incredible sight to see, but people must remember that these are wild animals.
"We share our beaches with seals and have to learn to respect nature and enjoy from a distance, and never interfere or get too close to them."
