'Neil the Seal', takes over Tasmania's beach towns, becomes top TikTok trend

Marine scientists are worried about the wellbeing of a 600 kg southern elephant seal named Neil that has gained popularity due to his viral antics and tendency to venture away from the coast and pull himself around the streets of Tasmania's southern beach towns.

Since his formal identification in July 2022, during a "haul out"—a time when seals come to land to rest—Neil the seal has amassed more than 45,000 followers on his Instagram account, which chronicles his life, reported the Guardian.

Neil's adventures have been featured in The New York Times, which reported on him sleeping in front of a neighbourhood real estate office and stirring up trouble outside a fish and chip store when he was commuting between the middle of the road in Dunalley and the nearby boat dock.

Yet the proprietor of the seal's Instagram account and a local marine expert claimed that his rising popularity is becoming more and more worrisome.

“We need to remember these are wild animals,” said Mary-Anne Lea a professor from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.

“It’s OK when animals are cute and interacting in generally safe ways, but then they become bigger and other natural behaviours kick in - along with their hormones - and you can start to have interactions that you are less fond of,” she said.