Grīva is a young female Grey Seal that was found stranded at Daugavgrīva beach, Rīga, on 30 March 2021 (hence her name, Grīva). The experts of Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia brought the pup to Riga Zoo as it was exhausted and needed a care. After a successful rehabilitation, Grīva together with Melluzis, another rehabilitated Grey Seal pup, was released into Baltic Sea on 3 June 2021. Both seals were equipped with GPS transmitters, so we have a possibility to follow their movements.
| Still no more signals received from Grīva's GPS transmitter. We continue trying to solve the problem… | ||
| 19‒25 July |
Somewhere near Ventspils, Latvia The last GPS signals show that Grīva stays in the waters not that far from Ventspils. Unfortunately on 21 July the receiving of GPS signals stopped. The death of the animal seems to be unlikely, since at the same time the data flow stopped both from Grīva near Ventspils and the other of our seals, Melluzis, from the opposite end of Baltic Sea between Sweden and Denmark's largest island, Zealand. We are trying to establish the cause of the problem. |
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| 12‒18 July |
Change of mind Grīva does not continue her northward track though. Soon she turns south. Grīva keeps travelling slower than Melluzis. By Latvian coast, Grīva slows down even more and spends her time near Ventspils and Užava, Latvia. N.B. Ventspils City is a supporter of Riga Zoo's seals already for 14 years, helping not only the Zoo seals but the rehabilitation of stranded wild seal pups as well. Grīva is one of them. |
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| 5‒11 July |
Into open sea Of all three released seals, Grīva resides at the 'hottest spot' of the sea. The temperature at the surface reaches 20‒23 ⁰C here, and the sea is just 15‒40 metres deep. This week Grīva presents us with most news, quickly traveling through Irbe Strait and heading into open sea. |
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| 28 June‒4 July |
A bit further north During this week Grīva moves further to the north of the Gulf of Riga. Now she stays in an area south of Saaremaa, Estonia. Grīva is undoubtedly active, 107 GPS signals have been recorded. |
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| 21‒27 June |
More movement Grīva does not travel so fast and far as Melluzis does, but now she has started to move over a larger area as well. At the second part of the week she makes a proud circle around Ruhnu Island. Now many more GPS signals are recorded, a total of 92 this week. |
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| 14‒20 June |
Staying at a rich feeding area Grīva spends all the week in the area between Estonian islands of Ruhnu and Kihnu. 56 GPS signals were received by satellites. As GPS signals are recorded at the moments when the tagged seal is surfacing, most probably that shows that the animal is both diving and surfacing, and, most probably, successfully hunting on fish. |
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| 8‒13 June |
Near Estonian islands The released seals, Grīva and Melluzis, have now chosen different directions. Melluzis opts to return south, but Grīva continues to move among small Estonian islands. First she heads north and then east towards Kihnu Island, then make more turns and finally moves west. 29 signals were received from Grīva's GPS transmitter this week. The sea is 15‒40 metres deep here. |
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| 3‒7 June |
Towards Ruhnu, Estonia Just after the release Grīva first moves towards Kolka, then turns north and continues towards Estonian island of Ruhnu, exploring the waters by its western coast. |
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