{"id":759507,"date":"2026-06-25T14:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759507\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T14:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:23:18","slug":"neil-the-seal-wildlife-workers-defend-using-poles-and-board-to-remove-famous-1000kg-seal-from-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759507\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil the seal: Wildlife workers defend using poles and board to remove famous 1000kg seal from road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tasmanian<\/a> wildlife workers have defended their makeshift methods of removing a popular seal<\/a> that was blocking traffic.<\/p>\n

Neil the seal, a southern elephant seal that is often spotted around the region south-east of Hobart<\/a>,\u00a0was found ashore in the middle of the street in Primrose Sands on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wildlife staff used a padded pole and board to usher Neil off the road.\u00a0@neiltheseal316<\/p>\n

Workers from Tasmania\u2019s Marine Conservation Program (MCP) were called in to remove the 1000-kilogram marine animal and were filmed using padded poles to prod him and a wooden board to usher him away from the road and back to the beach.<\/p>\n

Jason, who runs the Neil the seal social media pages, said it was uncomfortable to see the wildlife<\/a> staff \u201chit\u201d the animal.<\/p>\n

Jason told nine.com.au<\/a> there is an \u201cuproar\u201d in the local community following Wednesday\u2019s incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe general feeling of the public is outraged, many people have made complaints,\u201d Jason said.<\/p>\n

He previously helped lure Neil off the road using traffic cones and regularly has interactions with the beloved animal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil the seal\u00a0has become a deeply cherished figure in southern Tasmania because his regular coastal visits embody the unique, sometimes chaotic, and close-knit relationship between Tasmanian communities and their local wildlife,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt amazes me how many people are actually infatuated with this seal. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd millions of people are willing to fight for his safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jason,<\/p>\n

Jason, the owner of a popular TikTok page dedicated to Neil the seal.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

Jason shared footage of Wednesday\u2019s interaction between wildlife staff and Neil on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t agree with it. They\u2019re trying to get him back on the beach and then they\u2019re going to electric fence the track to keep Neil on the beach,\u201d he said in the footage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have used the traffic cone to lure him without hitting him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason acknowledged the sheer size of Neil made it difficult for the workers to easily move him to safety, however added it was \u201cjarring\u201d to see their method.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a stark reminder of how incredibly difficult it is to manage a massive wild animal who treats the local public roads like his personal mattress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Tasmania\u2019s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that MCP staff were using \u201csafe, approved\u201d methods of relocating the seal and that it did not harm him.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Tasmania\u2019s Marine Conservation Program (MCP) defended the method.\u00a0@neiltheseal316<\/p>\n

Neil \u2013 born in Salem Bay on the Tasman Peninsula in 2020 \u2013 has quickly grown and is now tipping the scales at one tonne.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not possible to leave him in place, as this puts him at risk of being hit by a vehicle and creates a safety hazard for drivers and pedestrians,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil is now estimated to weigh around 1000kg, and even small movements from a large wild animal can cause serious injury. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a subadult, his behaviour has changed, and techniques used during previous visits have been updated to ensure everyone\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of padded poles, boards and noise to encourage large wildlife to move isa standard, internationally recognised approach used by trained wildlife experts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neil was eventually removed from the road and back to safety on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The famous seal has been spotted lounging on the road and chewing traffic cones over the past five years.<\/p>\n

His movements around south-east Tasmania have been documented on a TikTok account run by Jason, which has attracted 1.4 million followers.<\/p>\n

\"Neil<\/p>\n

Neil is a southern elephant seal, an endangered species.\u00a0@neiltheseal22<\/p>\n

Fans share images and footage of Neil\u2019s whereabouts with Jason whenever they spot him in public.<\/p>\n

The department warned locals and visitors to always stay at least 20 metres away from Neil and other southern elephant seals.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil is a southern elephant seal, an endangered species, and we all have a role to support wildlife experts in protecting his wellbeing,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMale southern elephant seals naturally engage in play fighting, and without a colony in Tasmania, Neil can be drawn to busy areas in search of interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tasmanian wildlife workers have defended their makeshift methods of removing a popular seal that was blocking traffic. Neil…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-759507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}