Since coming ashore in June, Neil the elephant seal has left a trail of damage across beachside towns in southern Tasmania. Traffic bollards are bent. A public-safety sign warning people about seals is shattered. A fence collapsed when he tried to climb over it.
It was his 12th recorded visit. When he is not breaking things, he lies down where he likes, sometimes in the middle of a road, and a whole town stops.
The reason is simple, according to wildlife experts. Neil is a five-year-old male still learning to fight for dominance. Adult elephant seals compete for mates by rearing up and slamming their chests together, and juveniles have to practise. Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist at the University of Tasmania, said the rough behaviour is completely normal for a growing seal. With no other juveniles to spar with, Neil has been using parked cars and roadside barriers as a stand-in for a rival.
Dr Clive McMahon, a marine ecologist, put it more gently. Young males would usually spar with Neil and train alongside him. Without them he has to learn “by doing things like sparring with bollards and traffic cones”. McMahon thinks he is probably lonely. “Often when you see him sleeping, you’ll see him squished up against a fence, and that’s probably part of him wanting to feel that there’s something else there.”
A following bigger than the state
Neil’s online following has reached 1.4 million on TikTok alone, more than double the human population of Tasmania. Kris Carlyon of the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment raised the alarm at a news conference, describing how far some fans will go for a good photo. The department has asked the public to give Neil space. His popularity, it said, is a mixed blessing, and “Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword”. Officials believe there is a risk of loving him to death.
Rod Macdonald, mayor of Tasman council, whose area covers the place Neil was born in 2020, said the seal is a celebrity who “continues to earn his status”. Residents tend to make do, he said, working out how not to get into too much trouble with him. “Because of his size now, he’s a bit of a danger to damaging things.”
Wildlife officials ask people to stay 20 metres from Neil at all times, even when he sleeps, and 50 metres if they have dogs.
Sources
- A 1,000kg mammal is wreaking havoc in Tasmania – and Neil the seal is loved for it
- Neil Seal smashes cars, blocks roads in Tasmania and has 1.4 million fans. Now Australia is asking people to respect his privacy
