A “enormous” elephant seal has made a splash at a Victorian holiday hotspot but authorities are warning the public not to get too close, as the giant creature isn’t as friendly as he seems.
Henry the Southern Elephant Seal popped up at Blairgowrie in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula today after visiting Point Lonsdale at the weekend.
The giant seal doesn’t make the most graceful of entrances as a video shows the animal breaking a fence as he waddles up the beach.
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“There’s a fence broken, he’s been wreaking havoc through the boats we have on the beach here,” foreshore manager Max Patton said.
But he is certainly popular with tourists and locals alike.
“Incredible, I can’t believe we are so close to it and how big it is,” one person said.
“Came down and really surprised I was expecting a little seal… I’ve never seen anything so big,” another local added.
“It’s enormous,” another said.
In the heat of the afternoon, it seemed the young seal had a bout of Monday-itis as he spent hours lazing on the shore.
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Henry has already made a splash in other Victorian towns after the curious creature made his way across roads at Point Lonsdale and even broke two windows at a local service station.
“He came to visit us at the BP,” Neo Ussawathawornthai, whose parents work at the service station, said.
“Two windows were broken. I thought it’d be one window but seems two windows.
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“The police say probably he saw his reflection.
“Can we send the bill to anyone?”
Police were forced to respond to the seal and keep onlookers at bay while wildlife workers guided Henry back to the water.
‘Don’t call out to him’: Warning as ‘wild animal’ is unpredictable
The giant animal might seem harmless, authorities are reminding onlookers to stay at least 30 metres away from him.
Not only is there the risk of him biting but you can also cop a hefty fine for getting too close.
“Don’t go under the barricades, keep your dog on a lead, definitely don’t try and feed him,” Patton said.
“Don’t call out or say anything to him. He’s a wild animal and we want to treat him as one.”
Henry made the massive journey to Australia from Antarctica and looks like he’s setting up shop for a while.
“We expect that he might be here for four to six weeks,” Patton said.
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