The live-streamed adventures of the seals at rescue centre Pieterburen have gone viral thanks to a Japanese post on social media, resulting in a surge in donations.

The sudden popularity of the webcam was spotted by the centre’s communications manager who saw the number of people jump to 300 from a handful on Thursday.

“Normally we get between 30 and 100 people so this was quite special,’ Marco Boshoven told Nu.nl said. The Japanese X message has since been shared 26,000 times and has reached over 11 million people.

The new-found popularity of the swimming seals has resulted in more money for the centre. “In 24 hours we had received what we normally get in a month. We’re very happy about it, it’s boosted our energy,” Boshoven said.

Boshoven said the explanation for the enthusiasm may be that the seal resembles a Japanese good luck symbol. “One of the people we spoke to told me a teal leaf floating upright in the water is a symbol of good fortune. When seals are upright in the water they look a bit like that,” he said.

Pieterburen workers are now busy communicating with their Japanese fans. “We are answering their questions via a translation programme, so there’s an educational side to it as well,” Boshoven said.

Seals are among the most dangerous predators in the Netherlands but they are seen as cute, and people love to look at them, he said.

It is not the first time a Dutch animal webcam has gone viral. The same happened to the Utrecht fish doorbell in March this year when 1.2 million visitors from across the globe tuned in in its first month alone.