Photo: Sam Volker Photography/via AP.
Neil the Seal, a 12,200 pound elephant seal, plays with a traffic cone in Tasmania, Australia, on June 27, 2026.
When creatures of the wild become entertainment for humans, I doubt it’s a good thing for anyone. And after the laughs, how do you get the wild thing to go back to the wild?
NPR shares an Associated Press story about such a predicament in Australia.
“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 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. …
“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. …
” ‘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. …
“What’s unusual about Neil is that he’s the only male elephant seal hauling ashore in Tasmania. … 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.”
More at NPR, here.
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