WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — 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 1,000 kg (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.
For a rampaging, misbehaved seal… he is super cute.
Niel the Seal is a real life Kaiju. Emerges from the ocean for a few days every year, weighs a full ton (not even fully grown!!!), leaves a trail of destroyed infrastructure behind his rampages, and retreats back to the sea and then comes back bigger
Neil, the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania in years, has commanded an enthralled TikTok following of 1.4 million in part because he acts like kind of a jerk. 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 has a lot in common with one of my friends back home
If it dangerous why it friend shaped
I love watching videos of Neil.
It’s an easy rabbit hole to fall into. He’s living the unbothered, hometown menace life we all can only dream of.
“With no other juveniles to practice with, Neil can only rehearse on Toyotas.”
This also explains why JD Vance fucks couches.
(Please keep it away from Neil)
I just wanna hug him for hours… Oh god, am I the problem?
Yes
Absolutely love watching vids of this dude, and people living in the area will just greet him. He just want to interact with the society.
Where does a 1,000 kg elephant seal sleep?
Where ever it pleases
Yes
I absolutely love this title
