Recently, internet celebrity seal “Neil” has returned to Australian soil. This is a young male southern elephant seal that likes to wander on land. This kind of seal can stay on land for a long time.
Locally, Neil is a very popular internet celebrity animal.
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Neil with a positioning device
Since its debut in 2022, it has had its own social media accounts, and as of January 2024, it had 126,000 followers on Instagram and 730,000 followers on TikTok.
Not only that, it also has its own peripheral products, T-shirts and plush toys, as well as a song written for it.
neer doll
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It can be seen how passionately people love Neil!
However, animal protection groups are worried that the popularity of self-media will bring fatal risks to Neil and both humans.
Experts said: “Neal is back now and I know he’s popular but he’s also more dangerous.It is larger than last year and is currently estimated to weigh 600 kilograms.We hope that residents will not come to check in, and even if they see it, do not get close to it, and do not post its location to avoid more people watching and causing fatal injuries! “
He even warned: “If humans cannot control their own behavior, Neil is at risk of being euthanized in order to control risks.“
Neil the seal loves to play with traffic cones and sleep everywhere
According to reports, Neil was born in the bay of the Tasman Peninsula in October 2020, and became famous when he was 2 years old (July 2022).
In fact, judging from his appearance, there is nothing special about Neil. Why has he become an internet celebrity?
The reason is that seals will temporarily leave the water for reasons such as moulting or resting. Generally, seals only take a short rest near the beach or on the ice, but Neil is particularly courageous. He likes to stay in areas with human activities. Stay for more than a month.
It walked onto the road and entered residents' homes. Its favorite things are to lie in the middle of the road, play with traffic cones, bite road signs, and lie under the walls of residents' houses to sleep in the sun.
These behaviors of it made the surrounding residents think it was so cute, so they took pictures and posted videos on the Internet.
Therefore, we are trapped in a magical cycle: the more people take photos, the greater our reputation, and the more people come to check in!
When there are more people, bad things happen. Someone shared thisVideos of Neil being poked with sticks, hit with objects, verbally irritated, and someone trying to touch Neil with their hands.
Controlled Neil
In order to keep Neil safe and to protect residents, the local community had to dedicate personnel to supervise and protect Neil.
They erected signs and cordons in Neil's activity area, and set up barriers to surround it to ensure that residents could keep a distance of more than 10 meters while watching.
However, the effect is not very good.
Neil is so active that he either lies down and plays with traffic cones or goes to sleep somewhere else, making it difficult to manage.
At night, the community has to find ways to let the seals return to the beach to rest and avoid conflicts with residents.
Despite this, Neil would return to the land again the next day, sleeping everywhere, blocking traffic everywhere, and becoming a local “check-in landmark”.
How popular is Neil in Australia?
if,You asked your boss for leave, and the reason for the leave was: “My car was blocked by Neil and I couldn't get out!”
So,Your boss will happily agree to your request for leave and ask you to send a few photos of Neil.
This is what really happened. One morning in November 2023, a woman got up and found a 600-kilogram seal lying in the yard with a positioning device on its head. She knew that the other person was the famous Neil.
She realized she was going to be late because Neil was lying in front of the car, so she asked her boss for leave and attached a photo of Neil. Her boss smiled and agreed.
Later, she also asked the animal protection organization for help. At that time, experts said: It is unlikely to lure Neil away with food at this time. Generally speaking, seals come ashore at this time, mainly to rest, and they may sleep three or four at a time. Week.
After listening to the expert's advice, the woman was immediately confused: What should I do if I don't go out or go to work for three or four weeks?
Fortunately, after wandering around for a few hours, Neil left, and the woman's crisis was finally resolved.
Is it too popular to kill it?
This is really not an alarmist. There have been cases all over the world where animals were euthanized because they were too famous.
These animals are almost always huge and are nature's top predators.
Take Neil, for example, a male southern elephant seal. In another six years, when he is 10 years old, he will breed.By then, its size will reach more than 6 meters and its weight will reach 4 tons.
The southern elephant seal is the largest seal, and when it enters the breeding state, the ferocity of the male seal will be aroused.
Because they are polygynous, the winning male can eventually obtain dozens or even hundreds of female partners. For this benefit, the male has to fight to the death.
With this tonnage, coupled with its ruthless style in adulthood, no matter how cute it looks, it deserves humans to keep a certain distance from it.
Moreover, Neil, who was wandering on land, was bored because he was not accompanied by the same kind of people.As a result, it is very interested in moving objects, such as cars and humans everywhere, and it is difficult to ensure that it will not harm humans.
In order to prevent people from flocking to check in, staff haveIts location is not disclosed to the public, and people who see Neil are asked not to publish his address, and a locating device is installed on his head.
In 2023, when it was hot, it was secretly transported to other places to prevent humans from coming into close contact with it.
But these measures had little effect, because Neil was born in Salem Bay on the Tasman Peninsula, and he returns to his birthplace almost every year, again: “Take all precautions, but in the end, people have to be conscious!“
If humans don't listen to the advice and insist on having close contact with Neil, they will end up like Freya the walrus, who will be euthanized!
at last
In 2022, the internet-famous female walrus Freya suddenly appeared on a boat on the shore and refused to leave.
At that time, the staff in Norway said: If you wait patiently for a few days and wait for it to leave, there is actually no need to perform euthanasia.
But at this time, people came to check in one after another, completely ignoring the prescribed safe distance, which made Freya's mood become increasingly unstable. Finally, the staff ended with “Very high possibility of causing harm to humans“For the reason, he was euthanized.
Although many people opposed and condemned it afterwards, it did not help.
The executing agency stated: “This is a helpless move, human life is above all else, and the frequent contact between animals and humans has a great impact on the return of animals to the wild!“