WELLINGTON: Like many local boys before him, Neil returned home to the Australian coast where it was born. Unlike most, his fame, fans and financial damage are all behind him. This is also an elephant seal weighing 1,000 kilograms.In June, after months of foraging for food at sea, the five-year-old mammal roared and cried before dragging itself onto land for its twice-yearly trip to the southern Tasmanian seaside town. Now this poses problems as it weighs as much as a small car and has a social media following of more than twice the population of Tasmania. Its rampage through infrastructure resulted in bent traffic bollards, signs warning the public about seals and a fence that failed to survive Neil’s attempt to climb over it. The rest of the time, it lies peacefully wherever it likes, sometimes in the middle of roads, paralyzing the towns it visits. But officials said they fear Neal’s popularity could lead to ill-advised human-seal encounters that could be dangerous for both parties.Neil, the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania for years, has amassed 1.4 million followers on TikTok, in part because he behaves like a bit of a jerk. It was his 12th trip ashore and his crimes included fighting with parked cars and breaking through barriers erected to prevent him from leaving the road. Experts say this is a normal experiment in seal growth.Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist at the University of Tasmania, said juvenile male elephant seals need to practice fighting for dominance, and adults will puff out their chests and compete for breeding opportunities. With no other teenagers to practice with, Neil had to rehearse in the car.Local officials fear Neil is the latest wild animal whose social media stardom has outlived his benefits. “Neil’s reputation is a bit of a double-edged sword,” Chris Carrion of Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment told a news conference, asking the seal’s fans to protect its privacy.He said: “We’ve had some really stupid behaviour, like people approaching Neil holding their little babies just to get a picture on Instagram.”Officials are urging the public not to name towns where Neal is currently cheering or frightening. They fear a catastrophic encounter between a seal and its admirer could force rangers to take dangerous action to relocate it elsewhere. In a 2023 episode, a walrus named Freya, who drew huge crowds in Norway, was euthanized after officials said she posed a threat to human safety. “There’s a risk here of loving Neil to death,” Carrion said. Associated Press
