Make way for the king of Tasmania!
Neil the Seal has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born.
Weighing a ton, he is famous, has a lot of fans, and doesn’t really give a damn.
Neil the Seal, the internet’s favorite 5-year-old southern elephant seal, is back.
He has spent his vacation growing into a massive 1,000-kilogram (one-tonne) subadult and he is currently treating Tasmanian infrastructure like his personal playground. pic.twitter.com/ss1JrAzubf
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 1, 2026
Associated Press reported:
“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.”
“There’s a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death.”
Australian authorities are warning people to stay away from Neil the elephant seal, as it could pose a risk to his life.
Neil has become famous after repeated visits to Tasmania, gaining him a social media following… pic.twitter.com/uFzSqElqwz
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 3, 2026
The authorities fear that Neil’s popularity could lead to encounters with local population that are potentially dangerous for humans and seals alike.
“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.”
Neil the seal is creating havoc in Tassie again
pic.twitter.com/e7JK8BlXPp
— Somewherewithpaws (@JustKimfromoz) April 29, 2026
The Guardian reported:
“He’s bypassing barricades, crushing fences, lying on roads and bashing into at least one parked car. In short, he’s acting like an unruly teenager, play-fighting with seal stand-ins.
‘He’s probably not the fastest mover, but if he runs into a car or decides to put his nose up on the bonnet, it’s not going to be too good’, says Rod Macdonald, the mayor of Tasman council, which covers the area where Neil was born in 2020. ‘[But] he’s certainly been a bit of a celebrity, and he continues to earn his status’.”
Нил — пятилетний самец морского слона, который хулиганит на одном из побережий Тасмании
Закон ему не писан: он ломает дорожные знаки, перегораживает проезды и ругается с представителями власти.
Но популярность огромного хищника может привести к его гибели, потому что люди… pic.twitter.com/tZoXWco7tG
— Холод (@holodmedia) July 3, 2026
“As the independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie puts it, he’s ‘the only bloke in Tasmania who can stop traffic, ignore everyone, and still be loved for it’.”
Adult elephant seals can get up to 3 tons, so it’s anybody’s guess how much more trouble Neil can become in the next few years.
Read more:
UNEXPECTED PREDATORS: In the UK, Killer Gray Seals Are Increasingly Killing Dolphins (VIDEOS)
The post A TON OF TROUBLE: Famous Neil the Seal Returns to Tasmania Larger and Meaner Than Ever – And They Love Him for It! (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
