As every year, the DAP encouraged the public to report on seals who needed help and reminded residents of the right thing to do when seals were encountered, namely, not coming close to them and not bothering them.
Elīna Ezeriņa, head of the DAP's Communication and Nature Education Division, said that unnecessary calls from troubled residents about seals were getting fewer: "We hope that next spring no one will want to pull the seals back into the water, believing that they, like fish, may end up dying ashore. Seals hunt in the water, while on land they rest, socialize, give birth and raise babies. It is therefore perfectly normal that they are also seen on our coastal beach."
Overall, the DAP received nearly 200 calls for seals this year. Only 3 seal babies needed assistance. The injured seals were taken to the Riga Zoo, where specialists help them recover and return to life in the wild.
On Monday, a video was also present on social media where a seal had accompanied fishermen in the Mērsrags canal, presumably also looking for fish.
