Neil the seal up to animal antics in Eastern Shore suburb

Neil the seal has again returned to land in south-east Tasmania, the 700kg seal keeping a low profile with the help of locals. Watch the video here.

Tasmania’s favourite southern elephant seal has returned to Tasmania’s shores, with the local area helping to keep a low profile for the celebrity mammal.

The 700 kilogram social media sensation was the lone beachgoer at a popular Eastern Shore location, making the suburb his home for the past two days.

Neil the elephant seal is back on a beach near Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Two Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania) staff members were keeping Neil company, as well as taping off areas of the beach to restrict the seal and the public’s access to him.

Neil appeared to be more preoccupied with two bright traffic cones on the beach, body slamming and biting at the cones when not basking in Monday’s gloomy showers.

NRE Tasmania have previously pleaded with the public to respect Neil’s space if they see him, stating people’s fascination with Neil may just be “loving him to death”.

The public are reminded to remain at least 20m away from Neil and to prevent sharing his location online.

Neil the elephant seal is back on a beach near Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

One local resident watched from afar at the beach, stating they just wanted to get a glimpse of the celebrity seal.

“I mean he has fans all over the world, and he’s quite charming so of course I wanted to come and have a look,” she said.

“People who have come across Neil have taken photos, but no one is saying where he is because we don’t want him to get caught.

“Who doesn’t want to see him fight some traffic cones though.”

Neil was born on the Tasman Peninsula in October 2020, meaning southeast Tasmania is where he will return twice a year to moult and to breed when he is older after foraging at sea.