Australian officials urge fans to give famous elephant seal privacy

Australian officials urge fans to give famous elephant seal privacy

A 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal named Neil has returned to the Australian coast where he was born, bringing a trail of property damage and a massive social media following to southern Tasmania state.

The 5-year-old mammal hauled himself onto land in June for his twice-yearly visit to beachside towns after months spent feeding at sea. This visit is his 12th. While seals typically return biannually to their birthplaces to shed fur, fast, and rest, Neil's presence is unusual because he is the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania in years.

Neil's arrival has caused significant disruption to local infrastructure. His activities have included smashing through barriers designed to keep him off roads, bending traffic bollards, and destroying a fence during an attempt to vault it. He also destroyed a sign intended to warn the public about seals. At other times, the seal has brought towns to a standstill by lying in the middle of the road or occupying sidewalks.

The seal has attracted 1.4 million followers on TikTok, a number that is more than double the human population of Tasmania. Some online followers have viewed Neil as an anti-authoritarian hero due to his habit of picking fights with parked cars. However, Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, explained that this is normal experimentation for a juvenile male. Volzke said these animals must practice for dominance battles where adults crash their chests together to compete for breeding opportunities. Because Neil has no other juveniles to practice with, he rehearses on Toyotas.

Government officials are concerned that this fame is creating dangerous conditions. At a news conference in Hobart on Thursday, Kris Carlyon from Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment asked fans to give the animal privacy.

"Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword,"

Kris Carlyon, Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, via AP

Carlyon reported "silly behavior" from the public, including people carrying small babies close to the seal to take photos for Instagram. Officials are now urging the public not to identify the specific town where Neil is currently located. There are fears that a disastrous encounter between an admirer and the seal could force rangers to conduct a risky operation to move him. Carlyon also cited a 2023 case in Norway where a walrus named Freya was euthanized after drawing huge crowds and posing a risk to human safety.

"There is a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death,"

Kris Carlyon, Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, via AP

According to Volzke, Neil's mother likely arrived from one of the breeding populations on sub-Antarctic islands south of Tasmania to give birth. While female elephant seals have been seen ashore in Tasmania, Volzke noted they do not cause the same chaos because they only reach the size Neil was when he was one or two years old. Volzke suggested that these animals may be repopulating areas where humans had previously removed them.

Future coexistence may become more difficult as Neil grows. If he reaches adulthood, he could weigh triple his current weight and measure up to 5 meters (16 feet) in length. However, Volzke noted that about 90% of male elephant seals die before reaching the breeding age of around 10.

Currently, Neil remains on a stretch of sidewalk, occasionally interacting with an orange traffic cone. He has returned to this specific location even after rangers ushered him away.

"He’s obviously decided this puddle surrounded by bollards, which are horizontal at the moment, is his spot,"

Kris Carlyon, Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, via AP

Dale Creamer, a resident of the town currently being visited by the seal, said he has not been personally inconvenienced. He described the seal as one of the area's biggest exports at the moment, adding that It’s Neil’s world and we’re just living in it.