WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake. He is also a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal.
In June, the bellowing and blubbery 5-year-old mammal hauled himself onto land for his twice-yearly tour of beachside towns in southern Tasmania state after months of feeding at sea. That's
posing problems now that he weighs as much as a small car and has a social media following more than double Tasmania’s human population.
His rampage through local infrastructure has claimed bent traffic bollards, a sign warning the public about seals and a fence that did not survive Neil’s attempt to vault it. The rest of the time he lies placidly any place he likes, which is sometimes the middle of the road, bringing towns he visits to a standstill.
But officials say their biggest concern is that Neil's popularity could lead to ill-advised human-seal encounters that are dangerous for both sides.
Neil, the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania in years, has commanded an enthralled TikTok following of 1.4 million in part because he acts like kind of a jerk. During this visit to shore, his 12th, his crimes have included picking fights with parked cars and smashing through barriers erected to keep him off roads.
Those antics have prompted some online to hail Neil as a kind of anti-authoritarian hero. But experts say it's normal experimentation for a growing seal.
Juvenile male elephant seals need to practice for dominance battles in which adults rear up and crash their chests together as they compete for breeding opportunities, said Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist based at the University of Tasmania in Hobart.
With no other juveniles to practice with, Neil can only rehearse on Toyotas.
Local officials fear that Neil is the latest wild animal whose social media stardom has outgrown what’s good for him.
“Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword,” said Kris Carlyon from Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, at a news conference in Hobart on Thursday in which he asked the seal’s fans to give him privacy.
“We have had some pretty silly behavior, instances with people carrying their small babies up close to him and simply trying to get that shot for Instagram,” he said.
Officials have urged the public to refrain from identifying the town Neil is currently delighting or terrorizing, depending on who you speak to. They fear a disastrous encounter between the seal and an admirer could force rangers into a risky operation to move him elsewhere.
Carlyon also warned of worse. In a 2023 episode, a walrus known as Freya who drew huge crowds in Norway was euthanized after officials cited a growing risk to human safety.
“There is a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death,” Carlyon said.
It’s usual for seals to return biannually to the place they were born to rest, fast and shed fur. Many species roam inland during visits to shore, sometimes leading them into beachside towns.
What’s unusual about Neil is that he's is the only male elephant seal hauling ashore in Tasmania.
Sub-Antarctic islands south of Tasmania are home to breeding populations of elephant seals and Neil’s mother would have arrived from one of them to give birth, Volzke said. Females have been spotted ashore in Tasmania before, but topping out at the size Neil reached when he was a year or two old, they don't cause the same kind of chaos, she added.
“Humans got rid of those animals and now maybe they are coming back and repopulating areas that they were previously seen in,” she said. “We do need to find a way to coexist.”
That could prove tricky for Neil, and for the rangers, police officers and security guards who follow in his wake. If he survives to adulthood, Neil could measure up to 5 meters (16 feet) in length and weigh triple what he does now.
However, about 90% of male elephant seals die before they reach a breeding age of around 10, Volzke said.
For now, Neil the seal is occupying a stretch of sidewalk, unmoving and unbothered. Sometimes he canoodles with an orange traffic cone, to the delight of his online followers. It isn't clear why he prefers that location, which he has returned to even after being ushered away by rangers.
“He’s obviously decided this puddle surrounded by bollards, which are horizontal at the moment, is his spot,” said Carlyon on Thursday.
His fans can relate. The locals have mixed feelings.
“He’s one of our biggest exports at the moment,” said Dale Creamer, a resident of the town that the seal is currently trashing, who has not been personally inconvenienced. “It’s Neil’s world and we’re just living in it.”
