On the afternoon of March 12, the Ventspils municipal police received a phone call from the Nature Conservation Agency stating that a young seal pup was moving along the old tank road in Cirpstene, Varves Municipality. The animal was lost and could not return to the beach, the police reported.
When the police arrived in Cirpstene, they found the seal pup lying on the roadside under coastal pines. It was healthy — with no visible injuries. The animal was not emaciated, so the law enforcement officers decided to transport the seal pup to the beach.
After carefully moving it to the beach area, the little seal pup continued its journey to the sea on its own, where it soon disappeared into the ocean waves.
This year, it was the first seal pup that the Ventspils municipal police helped, as well as the first such case with a seal pup since the establishment of the institution. The work done in Cirpstene was reported to a specialist from the Nature Conservation Agency.
The Nature Conservation Agency reminds that not all seal pups need to be rescued. On the beach, they often just rest. Only if necessary will the agency's specialists go to the seal pup, assess the situation, and decide on further actions — whether to relocate the seal or transport it to the Riga National Zoo for rehabilitation.
Residents are not allowed to rescue seal pups found on the beach themselves, as this may jeopardize the health of both the seal pup and the person.
