{"id":914558,"date":"2026-07-05T17:23:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T17:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/914558\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T17:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T17:23:25","slug":"neil-the-seal-causes-chaos-at-tasmanian-petrol-station-as-experts-warn-australians-to-stay-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/914558\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil the seal causes chaos at Tasmanian petrol station as experts warn Australians to stay away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s favourite elephant seal has been spotted causing chaos at a local Tasmanian petrol station after returning to the island state last week.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Neil the seal was filmed rocking his 1000kg frame onto a ute parked at the petrol station, slamming his body into the metal chassis. <\/p>\n

The five-and-a-half-year-old southern elephant seal was shooed away by workers using a wooden board and a rope. <\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

Victorian tourist Jess Caron caught the beloved visitor while on holidays to the Apple Isle. <\/p>\n

\u201cI actually don\u2019t watch the news, so I hadn\u2019t seen him before,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut then one of my friends was like \u2018look at this seal!\u2019, I drove around and there he was trying to get into the petrol station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caron said she was shocked by how big Neil was. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was massive \u2014 and so loud!\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was on a big car … on a ute, but if he was on my car, he probably would have been on the bonnet. So I moved my car, I didn\u2019t want it to get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil leaning on the car at the Tasmanian petrol station. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Caron said she was at the petrol station for an hour before Neil moved off to the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sat on the road and then he got back up on the car and he was rocking the car back and forth … he was not happy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then they turned all the lights out in the petrol station and pretended it was night time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he just kind of laid in the middle of the road and gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neil reappeared last week after almost six months at sea with wildlife officials keeping his exact location a closely guarded secret from the public due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

The Instagram-famous seal is expected to reach up to five metres in length and weigh between 3000kg and 3500kg when he is fully grown, with his size already creating issues as he moves around the Tasmanian town crushing fences, blocking roads and even smashing into parked cars in what experts describe as play\u2011fighting behaviour.<\/p>\n

A lonely life for Neil<\/p>\n

Kris Carlyon, from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, said Neil\u2019s behaviour is a direct result of isolation.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got no other seals to play with, to joust with, to test his own strength with like he would be doing normally,\u201d Carlyon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he chooses things to interact with \u2014 and he\u2019s obviously decided that this puddle surrounded by bollards, which are horizontal at the moment, is the thing he wants to engage with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil the seal causes traffic chaos in Tasmania. Credit: 7NEWS\"NeilNeil is expected to reach over 3000kg when he is fully grown. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

Male elephant seals like Neil spend their early years developing the behaviours they\u2019ll need to compete for territory and mates. That includes play\u2011fighting, jousting and testing strength \u2014 usually with other seals. <\/p>\n

In Tasmania, Neil has no colony to interact with, so he redirects that instinct toward whatever objects he can find.<\/p>\n

Attention helps \u2014 and harms<\/p>\n

Neil\u2019s fame has exploded online, with crowds gathering whenever he appears. Carlyon says that attention is a double\u2011edged sword and urged Australians to use common sense and not force him into dangerous situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now the attention Neil gets helps with the awareness of our threatened species, helps with his protection in some ways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it also encourages perhaps risky human behaviour. If unmanaged, that attention can result in injury to both Neil or to the public. It can push him into unnatural habitats, and ultimately threaten his survival as a wild animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil was born on the Tasman Peninsula in 2020. Credit: 7NEWS\"OfficialsOfficials have been warning locals to stay away. Credit: Instagram <\/p>\n

Carlyon said he and his colleagues have been \u201cpretty honest\u201d about the risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southern elephant seals belong to the pinniped family \u2014 the group of flippered marine mammals that includes seals, sea lions and walruses. <\/p>\n

Pinnipeds are built for life in the water, with powerful flippers, thick blubber for insulation and streamlined bodies that let them dive deep and stay submerged for long periods. They haul out on land to rest, breed, moult and escape predators, which is why animals like Neil periodically appear in coastal towns.<\/p>\n

Neil was born on the Tasman Peninsula in 2020. Authorities believe his mother got lost on her way to the Macquarie Island elephant seal colony, about 1500km away.<\/p>\n

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