Fascinating pictures show a bottlenose dolphin's miraculous recovery - two years after suffering horrific sunburn injuries.
The dolphin - known as Spirtle - was stranded out of the water on mudflats in the Cromarty Firth, Moray, in 2016.
Rescuers refloated the female dolphin but didn't think she would survive after being stranded for 24 hours with extensive sunburn and severe dehydration.
But new images have revealed how the six-year-old dolphin's injuries have continued to heal - more than two years later.
University of Aberdeen scientists and Whale and Dolphin Conservation field officer Charlie Phillips have been monitoring her ongoing recovery.
Mr Phillips took the latest image of Spirtle close to Fort George, near Ardersier, on the Moray Firth.
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