Neil the Seal
Australian southern elephant seal (born 2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neil (born October 2020),[2] also known as Neil the Seal, is a southern elephant seal in the Australian state of Tasmania.[3][4] He was born in Salem Bay, Tasmania.[5]
| Species | Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Born | October 2020 (age 5) |
| Residence | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Weight | 900[1] kg (1,984 lb; 141 st 10 lb) |
Neil gained fame in July 2022 after resting in Hobart for his month-long moulting period. While most people kept a safe distance, incidents of humans disturbing the seal led to traffic cones placed to protect him. Neil playing with the traffic cones attracted more attention to his unusual behavior.[3][6]
Later events saw Neil more closely interacting with humans, often leaving the beach and resting on the city's roads, or even following people.[3] In one instance in 2023, Neil was found basking in someone's front lawn for a few hours in Hobart, preventing a local woman from accessing her car.[4] He was later relocated in April 2023 by officials of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment after people and dogs harassed him in Kingston Beach,[7][8] but by December 2023 he had reappeared roughly 70 miles away in the town of Dunalley, where local news reported his continued interactions with locals,[9] as well as the downing of a local real estate company's fence.[6]
He was reportedly seen again in good health near Hobart as recently as May 2025, though local news requested that his exact location no longer be shared for his own protection.[10] Neil is an internet celebrity, having 161,000 followers on Instagram under the username "neiltheseal22" as of February 28, 2025,[6][11] and over 1,300,000 followers on TikTok as of December 15, 2025.[2] He is being monitored by the Marine Conservation Program, established by Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, for health and safety reasons.[3][12] In 2026, Neil returned to Tasmania to shed, attracting renewed attention.[13]