WELLINGTON: Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where it was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake.

The wild animal, 5, emerged from the sea in Tasmania last week for its annual return to land to catch up on rest and moulting.

It is a cold winter's night near a beach in Tasmania's south as a strange looking creature balances its bulging body on top of a wooden fence.