Volunteer medics at a seal hospital on Tyneside have tagged four pups in what has been described as a milestone in their recovery.
Tynemouth Seal Hospital is currently caring for four common seal pups which were rescued in the summer.
All were severely underweight and some had other health problems, but have now piled on the pounds.
Once they have reached a target weight of 30kg (66lbs) they will be released back into the North Sea.
The colour, material and code number of seal tags indicate where the animal was rehabilitated and its medical history.
It means that if they are spotted in the wild, or found dead, they can be identified and the information is entered onto a database used by environmental organisations around Europe.
Now the seals have been tagged, the process for preparing them for life back in the wild will begin.
Interaction with volunteers be kept to a minimum so they do not get too used to having humans around caring for them.
Their daily swim times will be increased so they are spending the whole day and night in water or on a float to haul out on.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "The tagging is a milestone in their rehabilitation.
"We expect to be able to release them in a few weeks."
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