Some of the pups have been so young that they had their umbilical cords still attached, meaning they were probably ripped from their mothers before being tossed onto beaches and dikes by tumultuous seas.

Some of the infant seals are referred to as “screamers” by those caring for them due to their high-pitched whining.

“They are little babies missing their moms pretty much, so it sounds like babies crying,” American volunteer Torrey Utne told The Associated Press.

Zeehondencreche (Seal Nursery) director Lenie t'Hart says that the total number of rescued seals had reached 365 by mid-January.

That’s well more than twice the number typically cared for at the nursery each year.

The pups are being fed whole or mashed herring, along with re-hydration salts and water if needed at the facility in Pieterburen, Netherlands.

More seals have arrived at the facility hungry in recent years because overfishing and pollution has either wiped out the small fish they eat, or because pollution had contaminated what few were left.

Photo: Zeehondencreche