The Happy Pod: How Neil the Seal won hearts across the world

**Helena Burke** (0:00)
This is The Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Helena Burke, and in this edition...

**Jano Gibson** (0:12)
Sometimes he'll be trying to battle it out with bollards on the street. Other times he'll be seeing smashing street signs, and he really loves chewing on traffic cones.

**Helena Burke** (0:22)
The elephant seal that's causing mayhem in Australia and winning the hearts of millions in the process.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:29)
He's naughty, knocks down stuff, and I like doing that too.

**Helena Burke** (0:33)
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**Mimo Moretti** (0:40)
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**SPEAKER_5** (0:44)
It was truly very moving.

**Helena Burke** (0:46)
How a team of women from Afghanistan returned to international football.

**Najma** (0:50)
I would be proud we made the history by being the first to get our recognition without the approval of the Taliban.

**Helena Burke** (0:57)
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**Giacomo de Mola** (1:02)
Plus, when I was there, I was okay, it was a big emotion, but I was not sure that this could be so important, so amazing.

**Helena Burke** (1:11)
How an Italian diver made one of the most important archaeological discoveries in decades. We begin on the Australian island of Tasmania, where a giant seal is bringing laughter and joy to millions of people.
That's Neil the Seal. He's been visiting Tasmania for the past few years. Once on land, he likes to attack traffic cones, ram through fences and lounge his 1000 kilogram body in the middle of the road, often blocking traffic. He's attracted a significant fan base of people who love to watch his antics.

**SPEAKER_8** (1:53)
It's pretty exciting. He kind of just looks like a big lump of rock from over here, but he's very cute.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:59)
He's naughty, he knocks down stuff, and I like doing that too.

**Jano Gibson** (2:04)
He's got a bit of a typical Aussie larrikin vibe to him.

**SPEAKER_9** (2:07)
There's a lot of other stuff going on that's negative, and to have this bit of positivity, especially down here, is wonderful.

**Helena Burke** (2:13)
Jano Gibson, a reporter at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, has been covering Neil's visits to Tasmania for years.
In fact, some might even consider him the ABC's Neil the Seal correspondent. I asked him why Neil keeps returning to the island.

**Jano Gibson** (2:29)
It's very unusual for elephant seals to show up in Tasmania. There are no longer any elephant seal colonies here, and the closest colony is over on Macquarie Island. Now that's about 1500 kilometres south on the way to Antarctica.
But he ended up being born here in Tasmania, and because seals are pre-programmed to return to the place of their birth, he's been coming back to Tasmania about twice a year to moult and to rest for a few weeks each time. And when Neil does come here, he has a tendency to find a nice sleeping spot, and that's usually at the back of the beach, often on a suburban street right next to houses and cars.

**Helena Burke** (3:14)
Can you tell me a bit about some of the antics that Neil gets up to when he's lying on the street like that and around people's houses?

**Jano Gibson** (3:20)
Because there are no other elephant seals here in Tasmania, he instead play fights with whatever's around him. So sometimes he'll be trying to battle it out with bollards on the street. Other times he'll be seen smashing street signs. He's tried to level up with a telephone box, and he really loves chewing on traffic cones.
And many of these antics have been captured on video, they've been shared on social media, and that's what's really turned him into a bit of a celebrity. And there's this very funny story a few years back when a local resident at a seaside suburb near Hobart, she heard a commotion outside her house, she looked out her window, and it was Neil the Seal, he'd glumped up her driveway, and he'd knocked over a letter box, and he was blocking her access to her car.

**SPEAKER_10** (4:08)
I heard a noise outside, and I thought that somebody was trying to break into my car. So I looked out the window, and then next minute, I've got this big seal looking up at me in my bedroom window, and I was like, oh, hello.
I think it's gonna go down in the books as the best excuse in history of not to go to work.

**Helena Burke** (4:26)
So what's the reaction been to Neil and his antics in Tasmania?

**Jano Gibson** (4:30)