The good weather seems to have attracted a rather unusual visitor to Bristol – a playful seal.
The seal has been spotted over the last couple of days splashing about and fishing in waterways around the city.
The cute mammal was first spotted on Friday afternoon in the River Avon near Beese’s in St Anne’s.
And today it seems to be having a lot of fun frolicking in the summer sunshine near the weir by the Chequers Pub in Hanham.
People out enjoying strolls in the sun have been stopping on the riverbank to watch the seal and take pictures and video.
Some even managed to witness it catching fish for its dinner.
One walker said: “It's found some good fishing by the look of it.”
Otters are regularly seen in the rivers.
Colonies of seals are known to live in the Bristol Channel.
To get this far into Bristol this little water dweller has undergone quite a journey.
It is likely that it has swam in from the channel and along the River Avon from Avonmouth before paddling to the Cumberland Basin and all the way along The Cut to Hanham.
In a tweet Bristol Harbourmaster said: "Once every few years, a seal will come up on Spring tides , not that unusual. But always a remarkable thing to see."
This is not the first time an unusual species has been reportedly seen in the waterways around Bristol.
The Bristol Crocodile hit the headlines in 2014 after being 'spotted' by a bus driver in the river Avon under Coronation Bridge, which links Bedminster and Spike Island.
The following day, a mum-of-three from Bishopsworth claimed she had also spotted the crocodile in the river, about four hundred yards away from the first sighting.
But then the waterways went quiet as sightings dried up.
It wasn't until the following June that the croc reappeared, with a video appearing to show the reptile lurking under Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The crocodile was also reportedly spotted in a small river in Clevedon in 2015.
