Southern elephant seals are the largest pinniped, weighing in over 8,800 lbs or almost 4,000 kg! Why are marine mammals so big? I answer that question here → ua-cam.com/video/YhqZCDSQ3rA/v-deo.html
The majority of the locals in Dunalley (the town where Neil frequents) are quite protective of Neil and I have witnessed quite a few non-locals getting ripped a new arsehole by the locals when they have gotten too close to Neil *Edit* Ripped a new arsehole is Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi slang for being told off
i wanna see neil from an appropriate distance some day. in my home we have harbor seals (one of my favorite animals) and the protocol is much the same even if they are smaller and cuter 😭 i appreciate the work that the locals are doing to socialize him appropriately.
It helps that this seal is by a small town where the locals know each other very easily. So if some stranger/tourist comes by and wants to be an ass to Neil for Tiktok clicks, they'd have their asshole torn down. XD
I thought I read somewhere that he'd been relocated from there for his safety. He's tagged. Either way I'll be waiting for the next sightings of this gorgeous boy!!! ❤
Freyas story always gets me. She wasn't a threat to humans, it was the other way around. Just like in Neils case. Hope Neil doesn't have to die because of human inability to listen, think and/or restrain themselves.
It always bothered me too because they could have either put her into a conservation in order to rehabilitate or a zoo. If they're not a controlled population then shouldn't we be preserving them?
I believe the video where he's chasing that person may be one of a small group of locals that keeps an eye on Neil and encourages him away from the road when needed (if Police or Marine Volunteers can't get their first). Agree the older couple were way too close though. Neil should be admired from the required distance. Neil has also now returned to the ocean until next year. Thankfully he didn't need to be relocated this time around.
Yeah he tends to lounge in the middle of roads and is unfortunately always in danger of getting run over. Or he sometimes tries to go into people’s garages and lawns so in some instances, it’s definitely valid why people are close to him or trying to antagonize him to get him to move. He seems very well loved and protected by the community so hopefully nothing will happen to him. Though if he keeps getting into houses and such when he’s an adult, it would become quite dangerous so that has to be curbed asap.
What might be a better thing to do with this seal is relocate him well away from people altogether. He may of course been relocated already if he hasn't been relocated then he needs to be because the longer this seal is around people things for this seal may turn bad at the moment the locals may not have a problem however how long will that last so best the authorities move him for his own good.
@hajarmdn4883 what you are describing is a good reason why it might be better if this seal was relocated to a area away from people otherwise either he is either going to end up being run over by a vehicle or he may end up attacking someone which would mean he would have to be destroyed, so it would definitely be better for this seal to be relocated to a area with few or no people.
@@christophera556 He's returned to the sea now. Parks and Wildlife officers keep a close eye on him when he is on land, and there are usually several trained community volunteers that can assist Neil if absolutely necessary. He has been relocated before, from a different area of Tasmania, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania will always step in if they feel Neil is not safe where he is. People still absolutely need to be more careful with him, respect his space and maintain their distance, and also to not go advertising exactly where he is and encourage a bunch of happy snapper tourists to flock to his spot.
Thank you so much! I learned so much about him and his species today. I didn't know before. And this happens way too much all over the world, and nature pays the price for man stupidity. We see it too often here in Canada as well. When tours especially come through places like Banff and Jasper. There's a reason why you have a zoom on your camera. Learn to use it. Leave the wild life alone
This is so true and it pisses me off because it’s not for lack of education or because there isn’t enough signs saying don’t feed the wild life. Don’t approach the wild life.
Bears are so, so dangerous around humans, how people can't get it in their head to not feed them or seek them out is beyond any comprehension. They eat your pizza yes, but then they're dying for it because you taught them about pizza. it's heartbreaking!!!
Yeah, this is what I've been thinking. Neil is still a baby. When he's full grown and hits sexual maturity he's going to be an absolute monster (and I mean that in the best possible way). As much as we love him it's best for both parties that he finds a new home before tragedy strikes. I hope the authorities are successful in relocating him.
So I'm Colombian, I saw the Neil part of TikTok not long ago but I didn't know that getting close to them was so harmful to them, I hope people understand that it's better for everyone not to interact with him or any wild animals. Here for example we have hippos (thanks to Pablo Escobar's influence and money) and people here sometimes try to get close to them as a way to be perceived as brave or something like that. People are too stupid and I can just hope we learn to be kind to all animals without causing them any harm. Thanks for the informative video
woah, are the cocaine hippos still around?! I thought the gov would have them all slaughtered by now lol where do they hang out tho?? it's impressive that they survived generations, since they can't just fit anywhere
Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. Don't get between them and water, or their young. They will trample you to death before goring you and they are pretty nimble considering their size. They can also be pretty quick to temper as well.
Port Angeles Washington sometimes has a elephant seal that molts in the harbor parking lot. They shutdown all access and hire guards to keep people away.
I didn’t know that. I lived in Sequim, for a few years, and miss it so much. I’ll have to ask my friends who lives in Port Angeles if they’re familiar. Thanks, for sharing.
Here in California we have northern elephant seals. They are not quite as large as southern elephant seals, but much of the information is the same. The instrument that you showed on Neil‘s head is actually designed to collect information about his body size the length of his dives, where he goes what he feeds upon and much more. These instruments do not harm the animals because as you pointed out, the elephant seals molt all of their fur every year and any instruments like this are shed along with the fur Neil would have been tagged as a pup with a permanent plastic tag that was attached in the webbing in his hind flipper.
YES! California is also famous for their sea lions too, and they love to hang out along the Pier 39 docks in SF as well as the wharfs along Santa Cruz and Monterey. Elephant seals and sea lions can be such goofy/noisy adorable blobs! ^^
I'm Indonesian. The occasion like marine mammals get into the land like Neil is a rare thing (or maybe never happened) here. I knew Neil from youtube videos where in most of them he looked cute and funny. I didn't know some of his behavior is actually a natural self-defense of seals. Thanks for sharing with us, KP. Respect wild animals and their space.
Me neither lol. I was pretty sure him opening is mouth was him communicating he's not happy about the situation, but I didn't know that him fighting traffic cones was him practicing beating up other male elephant seals.
I think some people are so use to their domesticated animals, they project the behaviors they see in their dogs or cats or whatever onto wild animals. Which is a bad thing and I wish they would listen to professionals like you. The fact that these animals try to fight cars should be enough encouragement for people to keep their distance.
KP, elephant seals have got to be off the chart of most fascinating animals! My jaw dropped on the one attacking the car! We really need to respect their space. How sad we can’t get people to leave them alone. Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing. We have a 'tribe' of these elephant seals at a local 'hidden' beach here (a bit South of San Francisco) & I'll never forget going to see them up close on a guided tour fieldtrip as a kid. They are bigger than cars & we kept our distance. Luckily, there are no towns nearby, so our local elephant seals are protected.
While Freya concerns are valid, Neil is also approaching people by himself, he is hard to ignore when he is going up to peoples houses. That said people going out of their way to annoy him outside of that need jail time quick.
I think most people will avoid him when he’s in people’s spaces but there are evidently people who are trained to try and get him out of roads or out of places if absolutely necessary
You know people are going to record it, and it will end up on the internet with one of the following songs: Rules of Nature - Metal Gear Rising The Battle - Gladiator Soundtrack Duel of the Fates/Battle of the Heroes - Star Wars
Don't you love when people are told that an animal is dangerous if approached and then get upset and surprised when they get close to the animal and it attacks them?
I’m not to concerned with the safety of the people. If Neil takes someone out, that’s just a Darwinian thinking of our herd. Nature in action. I’m rooting for Neil.
Thank you for making this video! As an amateur biologist I was wondering about some of the natural behaviors I have seen in the videos and it’s cool to see some of my hypotheses confirmed. ☺️ I consider myself an athlete and quite strong and I never ever understand how people are like, “yeah, a three hundred pound seal poses no physical danger to me” I wonder if all of Neil’s practice with traffic cones will make him more successful later in life. :3
I admit i hadn't come across this cheeky chappy - yet. So glad you have, again, taken time to highlight the human impact issue. I remember Freya, that was so heart breaking,.. Looking at some of those clips of people getting so incredibly close to such huge and weighty animals - Just boggles the mind - some people seem to not understand how "wild" wildlife is. Its the total disconnect, and that frustrates and worries me a lot. thank you for explaining about this wonderful animal. and showing the stupidity of some people. Oh, and - Happy New Year Blessings to You.
I parked near by the area Neil the seal was recently (I’d never heard of him and was there for an unrelated reason) within the hour I was parked 50 or so tourists in separate cars turned up walking the foreshore looking for him. People really are idiots.
Neal is proof that marine mammals love traffic cones 😂 Lucky a majority of people seem to be giving him his space and I haven’t seen/heard of anyone trying to feed him or anything crazy. So hope he can get his moult done and back to the ocean with no real drama
When an animal hurts or kills a human who was behaving ignorantly, why must the animal always be euthanized? I would understand if there was a specific problem animal who was repeatedly and aggressively going after humans in a high traffic area, but some of these cases (like even that gorilla in a zoo who was killed when a kid got loose into his enclosure and the gorilla didn’t even do anything to the kid), it’s like humans are being encouraged to behave ignorantly around wildlife. We are actually creating more human monsters, because they know that if anything happens, it’ll be the animal that gets punished, and they don’t care as long as they get their video/picture. Am I the a-hole for thinking this way? Does it make me psychologically ill? I worry about this also, because I have lost a lot of respect for humanity since the internet and learning about all of these instances of humans and wildlife. It’s bad enough how we treat those we eat, but to go out and disrespect the others who have no place in our ability to exist is cruel.
You are absolutely right, granted if a predator kills and eats a human they will know that they are an easy food source. Also as an Orca pretend you love humanity cause they too strong and don’t listen.
Being upset that people aren’t being made to take responsibility for their actions that harm wildlife is very understandable, I have also had some uncharitable thoughts about people that do stupid things around animals that could contribute to that animal being harmed or seen as a threat in the future and euthanized because of their actions and it makes me very upset when I think about it. Unfortunately the government is unlikely to support my idea which is to give park rangers and zookeepers the responsibility to capture the problem tourists if they bother the animals and affix a radio tag collar to them that can’t be removed easily so they can be seen and tracked by all of the other park rangers and zookeepers as a potential problem if they ever show up again in a different place that has animals after they have been captured catalogued tagged and relocated far away from where they were causing problems, and they can display any repeat offenders as an exhibit at the zoo.
It annoys me as well, one of my main issues when it comes to kids and babies interacting with dogs. Like most of the instances I've seen it happen, it's very clear that the parents haven't actually taught the kid how to properly Interact with a dog. I've even experienced that myself, had a little kid run up to my dog while we were out on a walk and immediately start trying to pet her even though she had her tail between her legs and started trying to hide behind me. Worse still was that she had an adult with her, and this dude wasn't saying jack shit. I was just shocked honestly, kid was maybe 4 so I don't blame them, I blame the guy. All I could think to myself in that interaction was "Fucking hell, this kid is going to end up losing a hand if this is how she interacts with dogs."
This really worries me. Tasmania’s second biggest tourist attraction, Port Arthur, is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists per year. They have to travel there by one road only through Dunally to get there. Many of them stop there, if they’re travelling by car, motorcycle or camper van. If Neil decides he wants to regularly visit, I can see bad things in his future unfortunately. People need to stay away from any wild animals! DO NOT encourage them in any way! Dunally is 42km from where I live in a straight line. Quite a bit longer by road…
Cute and educational. I live on a lake in Washington State near Olympic National Park. We have a wintering group of North American River Otters because of their being so few year-round residents (they love the endless supply of lake trout put in by the local government each year, as do the hawks, osprey, eagles etc.). I am still learning about these local winter residences 🙂).
I'm not a trained wildlife expert but I know enough to recognise that Neil wasn't trying to be cute. That yawn and raising up like that were threats. Neil isn't a puppy or kitten and it'd be nice if people recognised that and gave these animals some respect.
Tbh, even if everyone behaved perfectly, this still seems like it will end badly for Neil. Even when people dont approach him, he seems more than happy to approach humans himself and destroy things.
I think Neil will be a temporary sensation. Once he’s of age, instinct will make him seek out females of his own kind, and likely return to the beach he was born on.
I joined your channel maybe 20 minutes ago now. I need to slow down so that I can enjoy this for a long time. Really great stuff. Marine life has a really good friend with you.
KP, I know your busy, but this has been bothering me since I read it. The Vaquita, mexican dolphin, there are only 10 left, basically extinct. Why did people wait so long to help it survive??? With 10 left, what can you do??? I read this and it was upsetting. I just don’t understand. Thank you as always.
I would love to chat about this as I was actually part of a rescue effort that was going to capture and captively breed the species. But it would be much better to chat about on stream! Will you be there on Sunday? I can put it on my topics to cover list
"Admire from a distance." Kinda hard when he's on your porch. There is only so much distance you can keep when you see a seal in your path on the sidewalk.
The locals are VERY protective of Neil. I don't really think they are causing harm. He wanders around in their residential areas and they just make sure that he's safe. They keep tourists away from him. The couple in the video were getting Neil to move off of the road. The trained pro that comes to move him actually resembles a traffic cone, which is his arch nemesis. The entire community comes together to help move him out of yards and off roads to keep him safe.
Um, Tasmanian here, the town he is in is very small and was actually decimated by bushfires not long ago , he is left alone and the township protects him as best as possible. It’s sad to see people from other countries “thinking” they know more about a situation than they do. The “things” on the side of the roads are ‘guide posts’, they’re on every road here. Neil gets encouraged by locals to move off the road, that’s about it
@@KPassionate if you really knew how “wildlife Tasmania” works (the government body for wildlife), you would know that their information is not always correct. In fact, they often get it completely wrong. According to them, ferrets are breeding in the wild here, though none have EVER been found, then there was the millions spent on ‘invasive’ foxes that yet again, can’t be found, the hundreds of volunteers that do wildlife rescue but Parks and Wildlife are still allowing the sale of animals to general public from wildlife parks which is illegal. Local tasmanians also don’t allow tourists or anyone to harass wildlife in these situations
As a ferret owner myself, I know there are some misconceptions about them as well as silly and outdated laws concerning them. But that is unrelated to what is happening with Neil. And what is happening with Neil is not a phenomenon unique to Tasmania. It happened in Norway with Freya, as I mentioned in the video, and it happens in the US where people get way too close to wild marine life like seals and sea lions. I understand the desire to defend the locals but the video evidence speaks for itself. There are videos of locals spraying him with hoses to chase him off their lawns. I used no less than 3 videos of Neil chasing people who were obviously trying to get a close up picture of him since they were clearly holding up cameras, phones, and or ipads. At the 04:54 moment in the video you can see a man WITH A BABY IN HIS ARMS using a traffic cone to lure Neil. This is irresponsible and dangerous and is why Neil was relocated at least 3 times. This relocation requires anesthesia which is extremely risky for seals who are voluntary breathers, meaning they breathe when they choose to breathe not unconsciously like us humans.
So glad I found this vid, I’ve been concerned about the effects human interactions is having on Neil. Also only a matter of time til he hurts someone or a pet
I saw Neil just a couple days ago and said it's not going to be funny when he crushes car's. Most other comments I saw led me to believe that they don't realize its a elephant.
I didn't know Neil was an elephant seal at first because he males aren't as recognizable without their nose lump that I can't spell the proper name for.
@@nightigal I know what you mean..funny as heck as a pup ( hahaha) pup... He looks like he's going to be a Rockstar...mabe just put some stuff out there for him to bash and deal with it. Local attraction..start the training now...mabe??or not. Good luck Friends
Thank you so much for this informative video. Watching people doing their best to get as close as possible to Neil makes me furious! Did we learn nothing from poor Freya??!!
While I will be heartbroken if he is put down, and I take your points… Neil will never have the speed and dexterity nearly all other large wild animals like the Bison have. It is hard to imagine him successfully chasing down anyone.
I think Neil is trying to avoid alot, including sharks. They don't seem to like red, Orange, or white. For now, i think he is just trying to stay safe .
They shouldn't have euthanized the walrus as she didn't attack anyone, but sent the people harassing her to jail. Regarding Neil, it is said he was relocated and came back. For whatever reason, he likes it there. I hope the community rallies around protecting Neil because it is clear they love the big lug.
In Aotearoa/NZ the standard if you see a marine mammal is to stay at least 50 m away. They’re smaller seals here too, such as leopard seals and kekeno (NZ fur seals).
Well, not exactly a baby, but he is a juvenile. He is currently 4 years old and the males don't reach their full maturity until they are 9-12 years of age. He still has a long way to go.
I always wondered about that mark on Neils head. Thank you for letting me know it was a tagging mark. Interesting. No elephant seals (or elephants) here in Pennsylvania but we do have very angry turkeys.
So i did think Neil was chasing them away when he was running towards them, but after seeing the videos of the adult seals fighting, im much more terrified. I think i was lookin at Neil like i look at a Chihuahua. Also thought Neil's fight with sticks was him just scratching itself. Im glad i found this video and im more educated now.
2:58 That's a delineator, meant to outline where the road is in bad weather and other low-visibility conditions. That shiny part at the top reflects light from car headlights, to make it easier to see. Considering that traffic cone as well... BEHOLD, NEIL THE SEAL, MENACE OF TRAFFIC CONTROL EQUIPMENT! FEAR HIS POWER, AND STAY BACK FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!
As cute as Neil is, he might get quite dangerous when he's grown and should be led back to his natural habitat. I watched videos of a giant adult elephant seal, that tried to mate with a pickup truck and mauled it, when the car refused.
Southern elephant seals are the largest pinniped, weighing in over 8,800 lbs or almost 4,000 kg! Why are marine mammals so big? I answer that question here → ua-cam.com/video/YhqZCDSQ3rA/v-deo.html
I have a question if Neil is a young seal than where are his parents?
They only stay with their mothers for a few months and then are on their own
@@KPassionateWeird, I have stayed with my mom my whole life
Ever think about how there are elephant seals bigger than some actual elephants?
Because it's Neil! Pinniped! 8,80/lbs! It's a random elephant seal being random elephant seal !
🦭
Neil🇦🇺🤘
The majority of the locals in Dunalley (the town where Neil frequents) are quite protective of Neil and I have witnessed quite a few non-locals getting ripped a new arsehole by the locals when they have gotten too close to Neil
*Edit* Ripped a new arsehole is Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi slang for being told off
That’s great to hear!!!
i wanna see neil from an appropriate distance some day. in my home we have harbor seals (one of my favorite animals) and the protocol is much the same even if they are smaller and cuter 😭 i appreciate the work that the locals are doing to socialize him appropriately.
Awww, now thats a great community. They respect and love him from a distance and make sure others do the same. This made my day!
It helps that this seal is by a small town where the locals know each other very easily. So if some stranger/tourist comes by and wants to be an ass to Neil for Tiktok clicks, they'd have their asshole torn down. XD
I thought I read somewhere that he'd been relocated from there for his safety. He's tagged. Either way I'll be waiting for the next sightings of this gorgeous boy!!! ❤
Boss: Why are you late for work?
Me: Shows picture of Neil.
Boss: ok.
Valid call out reason 😂
Freyas story always gets me. She wasn't a threat to humans, it was the other way around. Just like in Neils case. Hope Neil doesn't have to die because of human inability to listen, think and/or restrain themselves.
Agreed 💯
I didn't know about Freya until now 😭😭
It's Neil.
It always bothered me too because they could have either put her into a conservation in order to rehabilitate or a zoo. If they're not a controlled population then shouldn't we be preserving them?
The dirst time I heard about Neil, I immediately thought of Freya and wondered how long until humans ruin this too
Seal: car is threat. Seal: must destroy car.
CAR IS OTHER BULL
I believe the video where he's chasing that person may be one of a small group of locals that keeps an eye on Neil and encourages him away from the road when needed (if Police or Marine Volunteers can't get their first). Agree the older couple were way too close though. Neil should be admired from the required distance. Neil has also now returned to the ocean until next year. Thankfully he didn't need to be relocated this time around.
Yeah he tends to lounge in the middle of roads and is unfortunately always in danger of getting run over. Or he sometimes tries to go into people’s garages and lawns so in some instances, it’s definitely valid why people are close to him or trying to antagonize him to get him to move. He seems very well loved and protected by the community so hopefully nothing will happen to him. Though if he keeps getting into houses and such when he’s an adult, it would become quite dangerous so that has to be curbed asap.
What might be a better thing to do with this seal is relocate him well away from people altogether. He may of course been relocated already if he hasn't been relocated then he needs to be because the longer this seal is around people things for this seal may turn bad at the moment the locals may not have a problem however how long will that last so best the authorities move him for his own good.
@hajarmdn4883 what you are describing is a good reason why it might be better if this seal was relocated to a area away from people otherwise either he is either going to end up being run over by a vehicle or he may end up attacking someone which would mean he would have to be destroyed, so it would definitely be better for this seal to be relocated to a area with few or no people.
@@christophera556 He's returned to the sea now. Parks and Wildlife officers keep a close eye on him when he is on land, and there are usually several trained community volunteers that can assist Neil if absolutely necessary. He has been relocated before, from a different area of Tasmania, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania will always step in if they feel Neil is not safe where he is. People still absolutely need to be more careful with him, respect his space and maintain their distance, and also to not go advertising exactly where he is and encourage a bunch of happy snapper tourists to flock to his spot.
This is also happening in the US with buffalo, bears, etc. the animal always pays.
100%
Happens too often in Canada as well. And it's absolutely disgusting that nature has to pay the price for man stupidity
Thank you so much! I learned so much about him and his species today. I didn't know before.
And this happens way too much all over the world, and nature pays the price for man stupidity. We see it too often here in Canada as well. When tours especially come through places like Banff and Jasper. There's a reason why you have a zoom on your camera. Learn to use it. Leave the wild life alone
This is so true and it pisses me off because it’s not for lack of education or because there isn’t enough signs saying don’t feed the wild life. Don’t approach the wild life.
Bears are so, so dangerous around humans, how people can't get it in their head to not feed them or seek them out is beyond any comprehension. They eat your pizza yes, but then they're dying for it because you taught them about pizza. it's heartbreaking!!!
Yeah, this is what I've been thinking. Neil is still a baby. When he's full grown and hits sexual maturity he's going to be an absolute monster (and I mean that in the best possible way). As much as we love him it's best for both parties that he finds a new home before tragedy strikes. I hope the authorities are successful in relocating him.
I mean, we let elephans live near people. Why not Niel? An elephant in must is much more agressive than a seal
So I'm Colombian, I saw the Neil part of TikTok not long ago but I didn't know that getting close to them was so harmful to them, I hope people understand that it's better for everyone not to interact with him or any wild animals. Here for example we have hippos (thanks to Pablo Escobar's influence and money) and people here sometimes try to get close to them as a way to be perceived as brave or something like that. People are too stupid and I can just hope we learn to be kind to all animals without causing them any harm. Thanks for the informative video
The Columbian hippos is one of the wildest stories I've ever heard lol
woah, are the cocaine hippos still around?! I thought the gov would have them all slaughtered by now lol where do they hang out tho??
it's impressive that they survived generations, since they can't just fit anywhere
Many people have lower IQs than chimps.
Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. Don't get between them and water, or their young. They will trample you to death before goring you and they are pretty nimble considering their size. They can also be pretty quick to temper as well.
Hippos are dangerous, have you seen their teeth?
Port Angeles Washington sometimes has a elephant seal that molts in the harbor parking lot. They shutdown all access and hire guards to keep people away.
I didn’t know that. I lived in Sequim, for a few years, and miss it so much. I’ll have to ask my friends who lives in Port Angeles if they’re familiar.
Thanks, for sharing.
Read it first as "Washington has an elephant...""
As soon as I found out about Neil, I immediately thought about Freya and got concerned...
The trained professional arrives dressed as a traffic cone.
Now that you mention it... that does seem like a poor choice of color. :D
Here in California we have northern elephant seals. They are not quite as large as southern elephant seals, but much of the information is the same.
The instrument that you showed on Neil‘s head is actually designed to collect information about his body size the length of his dives, where he goes what he feeds upon and much more.
These instruments do not harm the animals because as you pointed out, the elephant seals molt all of their fur every year and any instruments like this are shed along with the fur
Neil would have been tagged as a pup with a permanent plastic tag that was attached in the webbing in his hind flipper.
YES! California is also famous for their sea lions too, and they love to hang out along the Pier 39 docks in SF as well as the wharfs along Santa Cruz and Monterey. Elephant seals and sea lions can be such goofy/noisy adorable blobs! ^^
I'm Indonesian. The occasion like marine mammals get into the land like Neil is a rare thing (or maybe never happened) here. I knew Neil from youtube videos where in most of them he looked cute and funny. I didn't know some of his behavior is actually a natural self-defense of seals. Thanks for sharing with us, KP.
Respect wild animals and their space.
Thanks for watching!
Me neither lol. I was pretty sure him opening is mouth was him communicating he's not happy about the situation, but I didn't know that him fighting traffic cones was him practicing beating up other male elephant seals.
I think some people are so use to their domesticated animals, they project the behaviors they see in their dogs or cats or whatever onto wild animals. Which is a bad thing and I wish they would listen to professionals like you. The fact that these animals try to fight cars should be enough encouragement for people to keep their distance.
Only five were successfully weaned!? Dang!!
And seeing people get close to wildlife will never not get my dander up now, lol.
Honestly though!!
KP, elephant seals have got to be off the chart of most fascinating animals! My jaw dropped on the one attacking the car! We really need to respect their space. How sad we can’t get people to leave them alone. Thanks again!
That was in New Zealand!! They cost us often as well.
Thanks for sharing. We have a 'tribe' of these elephant seals at a local 'hidden' beach here (a bit South of San Francisco) & I'll never forget going to see them up close on a guided tour fieldtrip as a kid. They are bigger than cars & we kept our distance. Luckily, there are no towns nearby, so our local elephant seals are protected.
While Freya concerns are valid, Neil is also approaching people by himself, he is hard to ignore when he is going up to peoples houses.
That said people going out of their way to annoy him outside of that need jail time quick.
Literally could have just relocated her instead of killing her! .-.
I think most people will avoid him when he’s in people’s spaces but there are evidently people who are trained to try and get him out of roads or out of places if absolutely necessary
As an Australian 🇦🇺 I can confirm that there would be a mutiny if the government put Neil the Seal 🦭 down
The tradfic thing is a reflector to alert drivers where the edge of the road is at night
Nah looks like a utility marker to me but they could be different in AU
In Australia you would find the whole town come out and get rid of the people that would even try to hurt him.
I just want to see the townspeople cheering Neil on when he does eventually challenge another Elephant Seal bull
You know people are going to record it, and it will end up on the internet with one of the following songs:
Rules of Nature - Metal Gear Rising
The Battle - Gladiator Soundtrack
Duel of the Fates/Battle of the Heroes - Star Wars
Don't you love when people are told that an animal is dangerous if approached and then get upset and surprised when they get close to the animal and it attacks them?
I’m not to concerned with the safety of the people. If Neil takes someone out, that’s just a Darwinian thinking of our herd. Nature in action. I’m rooting for Neil.
Thank you for making this video! As an amateur biologist I was wondering about some of the natural behaviors I have seen in the videos and it’s cool to see some of my hypotheses confirmed. ☺️ I consider myself an athlete and quite strong and I never ever understand how people are like, “yeah, a three hundred pound seal poses no physical danger to me”
I wonder if all of Neil’s practice with traffic cones will make him more successful later in life. :3
I admit i hadn't come across this cheeky chappy - yet. So glad you have, again, taken time to highlight the human impact issue.
I remember Freya, that was so heart breaking,..
Looking at some of those clips of people getting so incredibly close to such huge and weighty animals - Just boggles the mind - some people seem to not understand how "wild" wildlife is. Its the total disconnect, and that frustrates and worries me a lot.
thank you for explaining about this wonderful animal. and showing the stupidity of some people.
Oh, and - Happy New Year Blessings to You.
I parked near by the area Neil the seal was recently (I’d never heard of him and was there for an unrelated reason) within the hour I was parked 50 or so tourists in separate cars turned up walking the foreshore looking for him. People really are idiots.
People need to understand that you should not mess with wild animals. It never ends well.
As others have mentioned, this situation has Freya written all over it ☹️
Why couldn't they transport Freya the walrus somewhere else instead of killing her?
It was a lazy and inhumane decision. Easiest for people.
Thank you KP and Neal. may Neal live long safe from unaware humans and free
Neal is proof that marine mammals love traffic cones 😂
Lucky a majority of people seem to be giving him his space and I haven’t seen/heard of anyone trying to feed him or anything crazy. So hope he can get his moult done and back to the ocean with no real drama
Is that a cookiecutter shark bite mark on Neil's back? Those sharks are frightening.
It certainly looks like it could be! I agree. Nightmare fuel.
When an animal hurts or kills a human who was behaving ignorantly, why must the animal always be euthanized? I would understand if there was a specific problem animal who was repeatedly and aggressively going after humans in a high traffic area, but some of these cases (like even that gorilla in a zoo who was killed when a kid got loose into his enclosure and the gorilla didn’t even do anything to the kid), it’s like humans are being encouraged to behave ignorantly around wildlife. We are actually creating more human monsters, because they know that if anything happens, it’ll be the animal that gets punished, and they don’t care as long as they get their video/picture. Am I the a-hole for thinking this way? Does it make me psychologically ill? I worry about this also, because I have lost a lot of respect for humanity since the internet and learning about all of these instances of humans and wildlife. It’s bad enough how we treat those we eat, but to go out and disrespect the others who have no place in our ability to exist is cruel.
You are absolutely right, granted if a predator kills and eats a human they will know that they are an easy food source. Also as an Orca pretend you love humanity cause they too strong and don’t listen.
Being upset that people aren’t being made to take responsibility for their actions that harm wildlife is very understandable, I have also had some uncharitable thoughts about people that do stupid things around animals that could contribute to that animal being harmed or seen as a threat in the future and euthanized because of their actions and it makes me very upset when I think about it. Unfortunately the government is unlikely to support my idea which is to give park rangers and zookeepers the responsibility to capture the problem tourists if they bother the animals and affix a radio tag collar to them that can’t be removed easily so they can be seen and tracked by all of the other park rangers and zookeepers as a potential problem if they ever show up again in a different place that has animals after they have been captured catalogued tagged and relocated far away from where they were causing problems, and they can display any repeat offenders as an exhibit at the zoo.
@@MissMeganBeckett That needs to happen! 🤣
It annoys me as well, one of my main issues when it comes to kids and babies interacting with dogs.
Like most of the instances I've seen it happen, it's very clear that the parents haven't actually taught the kid how to properly Interact with a dog. I've even experienced that myself, had a little kid run up to my dog while we were out on a walk and immediately start trying to pet her even though she had her tail between her legs and started trying to hide behind me.
Worse still was that she had an adult with her, and this dude wasn't saying jack shit. I was just shocked honestly, kid was maybe 4 so I don't blame them, I blame the guy.
All I could think to myself in that interaction was "Fucking hell, this kid is going to end up losing a hand if this is how she interacts with dogs."
This really worries me. Tasmania’s second biggest tourist attraction, Port Arthur, is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists per year. They have to travel there by one road only through Dunally to get there. Many of them stop there, if they’re travelling by car, motorcycle or camper van. If Neil decides he wants to regularly visit, I can see bad things in his future unfortunately. People need to stay away from any wild animals! DO NOT encourage them in any way! Dunally is 42km from where I live in a straight line. Quite a bit longer by road…
I had no idea how big they are! Very interesting animal. People should be arrested for harassing them.
So sad about Freya that’s not fair
Passion is in your name, and it comes through. Thank you for providing content I can nerd out to.
I appreciate that!
Cute and educational. I live on a lake in Washington State near Olympic National Park. We have a wintering group of North American River Otters because of their being so few year-round residents (they love the endless supply of lake trout put in by the local government each year, as do the hawks, osprey, eagles etc.). I am still learning about these local winter residences 🙂).
I'm not a trained wildlife expert but I know enough to recognise that Neil wasn't trying to be cute. That yawn and raising up like that were threats. Neil isn't a puppy or kitten and it'd be nice if people recognised that and gave these animals some respect.
Thank you for giving a size comparison to a car...holy Hannah they're huge!
I think about these things every time I see these Neil videos, especially how big and aggressive he’s going to be in a few years!! 😮
Tbh, even if everyone behaved perfectly, this still seems like it will end badly for Neil. Even when people dont approach him, he seems more than happy to approach humans himself and destroy things.
It's like here in Florida people poking and bothering the manatees had to yell at this guy trying to touch one with his paddle 🤦
My friend George Costanza was a marine bioigist.
The sea was angry that day
I’ll thank Neil for finding your channel. 👍
I feel smarter 😀
I was just at the breeding ground near San Simeon, CA. So cool! ✌🏼
I think Neil will be a temporary sensation. Once he’s of age, instinct will make him seek out females of his own kind, and likely return to the beach he was born on.
I joined your channel maybe 20 minutes ago now. I need to slow down so that I can enjoy this for a long time. Really great stuff. Marine life has a really good friend with you.
The crazy part is Neil is still a young bull and he’s still got a ways to grow before he’s a full grown adult
KP, I know your busy, but this has been bothering me since I read it. The Vaquita, mexican dolphin, there are only 10 left, basically extinct. Why did people wait so long to help it survive??? With 10 left, what can you do??? I read this and it was upsetting. I just don’t understand. Thank you as always.
I would love to chat about this as I was actually part of a rescue effort that was going to capture and captively breed the species. But it would be much better to chat about on stream! Will you be there on Sunday? I can put it on my topics to cover list
@@KPassionate Instagram?
No on Twitch. I don’t stream on instagram usually.
@@KPassionate I will be there with fins on!!!!!! 🥰
From what I saw, it was a mix of corruption, and the species itself was discovered quite late. It was discovered and recorded when already endangered.
Thank you for sharing, this is really interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Poor Neil...why don't people leave him alone...
Because he's cute but imagine if he looks like a leopard seal. People will be scared of him by just looking. Looks can be deceiving.
"Admire from a distance."
Kinda hard when he's on your porch. There is only so much distance you can keep when you see a seal in your path on the sidewalk.
The law enforcement should charge people when they harass Neil. And give them hefty fines, so they reconsider if it's worth the money and jail time!
The epitome of "OH LAWD HE COMIN!"
The locals are VERY protective of Neil. I don't really think they are causing harm. He wanders around in their residential areas and they just make sure that he's safe. They keep tourists away from him. The couple in the video were getting Neil to move off of the road. The trained pro that comes to move him actually resembles a traffic cone, which is his arch nemesis. The entire community comes together to help move him out of yards and off roads to keep him safe.
Thank you. Excellent video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Um, Tasmanian here, the town he is in is very small and was actually decimated by bushfires not long ago , he is left alone and the township protects him as best as possible. It’s sad to see people from other countries “thinking” they know more about a situation than they do. The “things” on the side of the roads are ‘guide posts’, they’re on every road here. Neil gets encouraged by locals to move off the road, that’s about it
The information is all taken from the local wildlife authorities in Tasmania. And the video evidence is pretty clear.
I doubt that the people harassing him are Tasmanians-
@@KPassionate if you really knew how “wildlife Tasmania” works (the government body for wildlife), you would know that their information is not always correct. In fact, they often get it completely wrong. According to them, ferrets are breeding in the wild here, though none have EVER been found, then there was the millions spent on ‘invasive’ foxes that yet again, can’t be found, the hundreds of volunteers that do wildlife rescue but Parks and Wildlife are still allowing the sale of animals to general public from wildlife parks which is illegal. Local tasmanians also don’t allow tourists or anyone to harass wildlife in these situations
As a ferret owner myself, I know there are some misconceptions about them as well as silly and outdated laws concerning them. But that is unrelated to what is happening with Neil. And what is happening with Neil is not a phenomenon unique to Tasmania. It happened in Norway with Freya, as I mentioned in the video, and it happens in the US where people get way too close to wild marine life like seals and sea lions. I understand the desire to defend the locals but the video evidence speaks for itself. There are videos of locals spraying him with hoses to chase him off their lawns. I used no less than 3 videos of Neil chasing people who were obviously trying to get a close up picture of him since they were clearly holding up cameras, phones, and or ipads. At the 04:54 moment in the video you can see a man WITH A BABY IN HIS ARMS using a traffic cone to lure Neil. This is irresponsible and dangerous and is why Neil was relocated at least 3 times. This relocation requires anesthesia which is extremely risky for seals who are voluntary breathers, meaning they breathe when they choose to breathe not unconsciously like us humans.
So glad I found this vid, I’ve been concerned about the effects human interactions is having on Neil. Also only a matter of time til he hurts someone or a pet
Freya didn't even do anything. I hate people.
They really are the worst
Neil’s gonna grow up to be a big boy
I hope so!!!
Messing with animals that just so happened to be friendly isn't a free pass to walk up to it. It's still wild. As "friendly" as they look.
Damn, had you asked me 10 minutes ago which pinniped was the biggest, I'd answered the walrus. I had no idea elephant seals are so huge! 8O
I saw Neil just a couple days ago and said it's not going to be funny when he crushes car's.
Most other comments I saw led me to believe that they don't realize its a elephant.
I didn't know Neil was an elephant seal at first because he males aren't as recognizable without their nose lump that I can't spell the proper name for.
@@nightigal I know what you mean..funny as heck as a pup ( hahaha) pup...
He looks like he's going to be a Rockstar...mabe just put some stuff out there for him to bash and deal with it. Local attraction..start the training now...mabe??or not.
Good luck Friends
Honestly.
Especially since he does go up to people's houses, that kind of thing is funny when he's a baby, not when he's older.
Thank you so much for this informative video. Watching people doing their best to get as close as possible to Neil makes me furious! Did we learn nothing from poor Freya??!!
We have a lot of elephant seals who come ashore in California. From what I have seen everyone who comes to see them stays far away from them.
While I will be heartbroken if he is put down, and I take your points… Neil will never have the speed and dexterity nearly all other large wild animals like the Bison have. It is hard to imagine him successfully chasing down anyone.
I think Neil is trying to avoid alot, including sharks. They don't seem to like red, Orange, or white. For now, i think he is just trying to stay safe .
Long live Neil!!
Thanks!
You are most welcome. And thank you so much for the support!
@@KPassionate You bet! I have learned a lot!!! Thank you!!!!!
Here in California we have a lot of Seals and Sea Lions. Especially the Elephant Seals in San Simeon.
he's gonna grow into Tasmania's personal Kaiju.
Where I live we have clueless people try and pet moose.
I’ve just seen an article on Facebook that he is back.
They shouldn't have euthanized the walrus as she didn't attack anyone, but sent the people harassing her to jail. Regarding Neil, it is said he was relocated and came back. For whatever reason, he likes it there. I hope the community rallies around protecting Neil because it is clear they love the big lug.
Man do i love seals. I think theyre my favourite animal
They are pretty cool!
He's just a baby.
Niel becomes celebrity goof ball
Just tell people to not bother Neil and if they get hurt doing that just tell them it is their own fault. Solved.
Neil makes the town famous and lots visitors will visit the town
It entertains me to NO end to compare Neil to my dog
That’s so saddening and frustrating, why can’t people give wild life the space and respect they deserve…
The traffic thing is called a delineator, not that I’m throwing the weight of my general knowledge around 🤪😂
In Aotearoa/NZ the standard if you see a marine mammal is to stay at least 50 m away. They’re smaller seals here too, such as leopard seals and kekeno (NZ fur seals).
"That's because he's just a baby"
NEIL IS JUST A BABY!?
Well, not exactly a baby, but he is a juvenile. He is currently 4 years old and the males don't reach their full maturity until they are 9-12 years of age. He still has a long way to go.
Please take note of the experts advice, Neil needs to be kept safe, those looking out for him do a fantastic job, the public need to listen
I always wondered about that mark on Neils head. Thank you for letting me know it was a tagging mark. Interesting. No elephant seals (or elephants) here in Pennsylvania but we do have very angry turkeys.
So i did think Neil was chasing them away when he was running towards them, but after seeing the videos of the adult seals fighting, im much more terrified. I think i was lookin at Neil like i look at a Chihuahua. Also thought Neil's fight with sticks was him just scratching itself. Im glad i found this video and im more educated now.
2:58
That's a delineator, meant to outline where the road is in bad weather and other low-visibility conditions. That shiny part at the top reflects light from car headlights, to make it easier to see.
Considering that traffic cone as well...
BEHOLD, NEIL THE SEAL, MENACE OF TRAFFIC CONTROL EQUIPMENT! FEAR HIS POWER, AND STAY BACK FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!
Man he really demolished that car
I hope he will be ok. I remember a seal in London who got hurt by dogs 2 years ago and he had to be euthanized.
As cute as Neil is, he might get quite dangerous when he's grown and should be led back to his natural habitat. I watched videos of a giant adult elephant seal, that tried to mate with a pickup truck and mauled it, when the car refused.
I'd prefer the company of sea lions or a walrus
Neil the pill is a lot of fun to observe from afar.
OMG 😲 the Freya story is so incredibly sad. 😢 People are idiots.
It's like people who try to get close to moose. Bad idea.
Very well done. Appreciate the quality.
Glad you enjoyed it!
If Neil didn’t want to cuddle he shouldn’t be so adorable 🤷♂️
Facts 😂