Neil, the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania in years, has commanded an enthralled TikTok following of 1.4 million in part because he acts like kind of a jerk. During this visit to shore, his 12th, his crimes have included picking fights with parked cars and smashing through barriers erected to keep him off roads.
Those antics have prompted some online to hail Neil as a kind of anti-authoritarian hero. But experts say it’s normal experimentation for a growing seal.
Juvenile male elephant seals need to practice for dominance battles in which adults rear up and crash their chests together as they compete for breeding opportunities, said Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist based at the University of Tasmania in Hobart.
With no other juveniles to practice with, Neil can only rehearse on Toyotas.
