Walkers were confronted by a large dead seal which washed up on Crosby Beach this morning.
The marine mammal washed up on the shore some time earlier today.
It is not known how the seal ended up where it did, but such mammals can "strand" for any number of reasons - it could have got sick, tired, lost, or separated.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said it was not uncommon for seals to become washed up on the shore, and it was up to the local authority to remove it.
Last month, a major rescue operation was launched when a whale became stranded in the Dee estuary.
The mammal, which weighed approximately 14 tonnes, spent several hours out of the water, gradually being crushed under its own weight.
Despite several attempts to return it to the sea, the whale - named "Henry" by rescuers - kept getting washed back on to land and it did not survive.
And back in 2014, Dumbledore the seal captured the hearts of Merseyside after being found on a farm in Newton-le-willows.
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The appearance of the seal caused plenty of interest as Merseyside Fire and Rescue, police from the Merseyside and Cheshire forces, the RSPCA and specialist marine animal experts all joined forces to move it to safety.
It was thought he may have swam from a colony in Hilbre Island, off West Kirby in the Dee Estuary, before getting "very, very lost" just before Christmas.
