Officials urge distance from Neil the seal as crowds grow in Tasmania

Australian wildlife officials are asking the public to keep away from Neil, a 5-year-old elephant seal whose online fame has followed him back to southern Tasmania. The Associated Press reported that officials fear fans seeking photos could put themselves and the animal at risk.

Neil weighs about 1,000 kilograms, or 2,200 pounds, according to AP, and returned to land in June after months feeding at sea. Officials said his regular shore visits have become harder to manage as he has grown large enough to block roads, damage barriers and draw crowds.

AP reported that Neil has about 1.4 million TikTok followers, more than twice Tasmania’s human population. During his latest visit, he has bent traffic bollards, damaged a seal-warning sign, broken a fence while trying to get over it and pushed through barriers meant to keep him off roads, according to the report.

Officials warn against close encounters

Kris Carlyon of Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said at a Thursday news conference in Hobart that Neil’s popularity has created a safety problem, according to AP. Carlyon said officials had seen people bring small babies close to the seal while trying to take social media photos.

Authorities have asked people not to publicize the town where Neil is resting, AP reported. Officials are concerned that a bad encounter between Neil and a visitor could force rangers to move the animal, a step Carlyon described as risky.

Carlyon also pointed to the case of Freya, a walrus in Norway that attracted large crowds and was euthanized in 2023 after officials cited a growing threat to public safety, according to AP. Carlyon warned there was a risk that Neil could be “loved” into a dangerous outcome.

A young male practicing for adulthood

Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, told AP that Neil’s rough contact with cars and roadside objects fits the behavior of a young male elephant seal. Juvenile males practice for later dominance contests, when adults rise up and slam their chests together while competing for breeding opportunities, she said.

Neil is unusual because he is the only male elephant seal known to be coming ashore in Tasmania in recent years, according to AP. Volzke said his mother likely came from breeding populations on sub-Antarctic islands south of Tasmania to give birth.

Seals normally return to the place where they were born about twice a year to rest, fast and molt, AP reported. Many species also move inland during those visits, which can bring them into coastal towns.

Female elephant seals have been seen ashore in Tasmania before, Volzke said, but they do not reach Neil’s current size and have not caused the same problems. She told AP that people may now be seeing animals return to places where humans had previously removed them, and that communities will need ways to coexist with them.

Neil’s size could become a larger challenge if he survives to adulthood. AP reported that he could reach 5 meters, or 16 feet, and weigh three times as much as he does now, though Volzke said about 90% of male elephant seals die before reaching breeding age at around 10.

For now, AP reported, Neil has settled on a stretch of sidewalk and has returned there after rangers moved him away. Carlyon said the seal appeared to have chosen a puddle ringed by damaged bollards as his preferred resting place.

This story draws on original reporting from NPR.