Named Badger, he will be ready to return to the wild in March

The rare-coloured seal, which is jet black, is recovering at a sanctuary

Vets believe a black seal pup beaten up, bullied and abandoned by its family and other seals was a victim of racist attacks.

The two-week-old pup had an ulcerated eye and a variety of scar wounds believed to have been inflicted by other seals that were wary of his different appearance.

The rare-coloured seal was found on the Scilly Isles and is now recuperating at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.

Named Badger, the black-coloured pup is extremely rare for seal populations in the south of England

The pup was named 'Badger' because he is coloured similarly to a U.S. comic book super hero named The Badger.

The jet black pup appeared traumatised by his experiences in the wild.

Tamara Cooper, the sanctuary's animal care team supervisor, said: 'When he arrived he had an infection and was struggling to feed himself.

'He was very shaken up and we had to put him on a course of antibiotics and ensure that we gave him lots of TLC.

'Soon the pup started to recover and we discovered that he was a lovely animal.

'We chose the theme of superheroes for the names of all our rescued pups this winter and Badger just seemed the perfect choice for our all-black newcomer.'

Black seal pups are a rare occurrence with the majority of seal pups being a shade of white or light grey.

Badger pictured during his recovery at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. Prior to moulting, his fur was a shade of brown

Tamara added: 'When he moulted his infant coat the coat beneath was inky black.

'Black pups are very rare in the south of England and are more usually found among the Scottish population.

'We haven't had a black pup in our care since 2007 so we love being able to have this opportunity to care for him.'

Badger is still under close supervision but has now been moved from the intensive care section into the nursery pools.