{"id":360598,"date":"2026-07-04T01:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=360598"},"modified":"2026-07-04T01:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:39:25","slug":"meet-neil-the-1-ton-seal-going-viral-for-destroying-cars-in-australia-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/04\/meet-neil-the-1-ton-seal-going-viral-for-destroying-cars-in-australia-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Neil, the 1-ton seal going viral for destroying cars in Australia &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Like loads 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 can also be a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s posing problems now that he weighs as much as a small automotive and has a social media following greater than double Tasmania\u2019s human population.<\/p>\n<p>His rampage through local infrastructure has claimed bent traffic bollards, an indication warning the general public about seals and a fence that didn&#8217;t survive Neil\u2019s try to vault it. The remaining of the time he lies placidly anywhere he likes, which is typically the center of the road, bringing towns he visits to a standstill.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tOn this photo provided by Sam Volker Photography, Neil the Seal, a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal, moves through a public area in Tasmania, Australia, June 27, 2026.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t(Sam Volker Photography via AP)\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But officials say their biggest concern is that Neil\u2019s popularity could lead on to ill-advised human-seal encounters which can be dangerous for each side.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"section-heading\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"l-article__sectionAnchor c-sectionHeading__anchor\" id=\"neil-is-a-bad-boy-with-a-long-rap-sheet\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"c-sectionHeading__title\">\n\t\t\t\tNeil is a foul boy with an extended rap sheet\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Neil, the one male elephant seal to go to Tasmania in years, has commanded an enthralled TikTok following of 1.4 million partly because he acts like sort of a jerk. During this visit to shore, his twelfth, his crimes have included picking fights with parked cars and smashing through barriers erected to maintain him off roads.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Those antics have prompted some online to hail Neil as a sort of anti-authoritarian hero. But experts say it\u2019s normal experimentation for a growing seal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tOn this photo provided by Sam Volker Photography, Neil the Seal, a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal, looks over a bollard he has damaged in Tasmania, Australia, June 27, 2026.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t(Sam Volker Photography via AP)\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Juvenile male elephant seals must practice for dominance battles during which adults rear up and crash their chests together as they compete for breeding opportunities, said Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist based on the University of Tasmania in Hobart.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\">\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>With no other juveniles to practice with, Neil can only rehearse on Toyotas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"section-heading\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"l-article__sectionAnchor c-sectionHeading__anchor\" id=\"officials-plead-for-fans-to-leave-neil-alone\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"c-sectionHeading__title\">\n\t\t\t\tOfficials plead for fans to go away Neil alone\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Local officials fear that Neil is the\u00a0latest wild animal\u00a0whose social media stardom has outgrown what\u2019s good for him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cNeil\u2019s fame is a little bit of a double-edged sword,\u201d said Kris Carlyon from Tasmania\u2019s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, at a news conference in Hobart on Thursday during which he asked the seal\u2019s fans to offer him privacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe now have had some pretty silly behavior, instances with people carrying their small babies up near him and easily attempting to get that shot for Instagram,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Officials have urged the general 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 right into a dangerous operation to maneuver him elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Carlyon also warned of worse. In a 2023 episode, a walrus often called Freya who drew huge crowds in Norway\u00a0was euthanized\u00a0after officials cited a growing risk to human safety.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Trending<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death,\u201d Carlyon said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"section-heading\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"l-article__sectionAnchor c-sectionHeading__anchor\" id=\"neils-problems-will-get-bigger-as-he-does\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"c-sectionHeading__title\">\n\t\t\t\tNeil\u2019s problems will get larger as he does\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s usual for seals to return biannually to the place they were born to rest, fast and shed fur. Many species roam inland during visits to shore, sometimes leading them into\u00a0beachside towns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>What\u2019s unusual about Neil is that he\u2019s the one male elephant seal hauling ashore in Tasmania.<\/p>\n<p>Sub-Antarctic islands south of Tasmania are home to breeding populations of elephant seals and Neil\u2019s mother would have arrived from certainly one of them to offer birth, Volzke said. Females have been spotted ashore in Tasmania before, but topping out at the scale Neil reached when he was a yr or two old, they don\u2019t cause the identical sort of chaos, she added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHumans removed those animals and now perhaps they&#8217;re coming back and repopulating areas that they were previously seen in,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do need to search out a technique to coexist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That would prove tricky for Neil, and for the rangers, law enforcement officials and security guards who follow in his wake. If he survives to maturity, Neil could measure as much as 5 meters (16 feet) in length and weigh triple what he does now.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, about 90 per cent of male elephant seals die before they reach a breeding age of around 10, Volzke said.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Neil the seal is occupying a stretch of sidewalk, unmoving and unbothered. Sometimes he canoodles with an orange traffic cone, to the delight of his online followers. It isn\u2019t clear why he prefers that location, which he has returned to even after being ushered away by rangers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tOn this photo provided by Sam Volker Photography, Neil the Seal, a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal, prepares to bite a traffic cone in Tasmania, Australia, June 27, 2026.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t(Sam Volker Photography via AP)\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s obviously decided this puddle surrounded by bollards, that are horizontal in the intervening time, is his spot,\u201d said Carlyon on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>His fans can relate. The locals have mixed feelings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s certainly one of our biggest exports in the intervening time,\u201d said Dale Creamer, a resident of the town that the seal is currently trashing, who has not been personally inconvenienced. \u201cIt\u2019s Neil\u2019s world and we\u2019re just living in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like loads 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 can also be a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal. In June, the bellowing and blubbery 5-year-old mammal hauled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[53484,511,2768,15069,3055,1903,23876,18146,2140],"class_list":["post-360598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-1ton","tag-australia","tag-cars","tag-destroying","tag-meet","tag-national","tag-neil","tag-seal","tag-viral"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like loads 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 can also be a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal. 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