Some visitors to Tasmania’s coast this winter have carried their babies up to a 1,000 kg elephant seal so they could get a photo. Wildlife officials say that has to stop.
Neil, a southern elephant seal, was born in Tasmania in October 2020. That makes him an oddity, since most of his kind live thousands of kilometres south, on the subantarctic Macquarie and Heard islands. Dr Clive McMahon, an elephant seal expert, told the Guardian that Neil “was born in Tasmania, near Hobart, and he thinks that’s where home is because he doesn’t know where Macquarie Island is.” Then, McMahon said, “he doesn’t have a map.”
He has now come back to southern Tasmania 12 times. This year his size, his habit of sleeping in the middle of the road and his tendency to attack bollards with his bulk have drawn attention. He could grow to 3,500 kg and about 4.5 metres.
“Loving Neil to death”
Dr Kris Carlyon, section head for wildlife health at the state’s department of natural resources, said on Thursday that he understood the interest in Neil. He also saw a real risk of the public “essentially loving Neil to death.”
“We have seen examples around the world where large, potentially dangerous animals have had to be euthanised if there is risky behaviour by the public, resulting in an unmanageable safety concern,” he said. He pointed to Freya the walrus, euthanised in Norway in 2022 as a “persistent threat to human security” after the public ignored warnings to keep away.
“Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword,” Carlyon said. Attention helps raise awareness of threatened species and helps protect Neil, “in some ways.” But it also invites selfie-seekers to edge closer. Some have carried “their small babies up close to him and simply trying to get that shot for Instagram.”
Dr Jane Younger, a seal expert at the University of Tasmania, was blunt about the danger. “He’s already at a size now where he’s dangerous,” she said. “Even if he’s not in an aggressive mood, he could easily kill a person. They have a big mouth, big teeth, you could get very seriously injured.”
What officials are asking
Neil will be on land for about six weeks after a busy feeding period in the Southern Ocean, and Carlyon wants him left to rest. Some people have tried leaving food for him. He does not need it and will not eat it.
Residents should stay at least 20 metres away, and 50 metres if they have dogs. They should not get between Neil and the water. “Neil’s not inherently aggressive in the sense that some other animals might be,” Carlyon said. “He’ll certainly defend his space, and if he feels threatened he may lash out.”
Relocation is possible if things get dire, Carlyon said, but it is a risky last resort.
