THE two-tonne seal that caused traffic jams at a Perth beach as locals flocked to see him has returned to the ocean.

The southern elephant seal — dubbed Steven Sealberg by PerthNow readers — had made Sorrento beach his home since Wednesday but was nowhere to be seen on Sunday morning.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife said he left at about 11pm on Saturday night.

Have you seen Stevie on his journey back to sea? Email staff@perthnow.com.au

Senior officer Rick Dawson said the seal might haul out at other metropolitan beaches in coming days.

Tweet memories | PPPictures

Traffic officers handed out dozens of fines to beachgoers who parked on median strips in the crush to see the seal, which was resting on the beach after a long hunt in deep waters.

One local tweeted: “The Sorrento Seal left because even he got sick of all the talk about the Sorrento Seal.’’

“Traffic is intense. There’s no possible way to reach the Sorrento Seal. I fear I will never complete this quest,’’ another tweet read.

Male elephant seals mainly forage on the Antarctic continental shelf but cruise the whole Southern Ocean and can swim enormous distances.

On Saturday, Steven disappeared into the ocean in the early hours of the morning and was spotted later at Scarborough’s dog beach.

But the massive marine mammal preferred serene Sorrento and returned about midday, delighting hundreds of beach-goers who “ooh’ed’’ and “ahh’ed’’ at his every scratch, sniff, groan and burp.

“He’s epic. He’s probably the best animal in the world I’ve seen,’’ 12-year-old Melanie Symonds said.

Willetton’s John Duffy said: “It’s a fantastic thing to see. My boss is in Antarctica to see these things, and I’m standing on the sand in Perth seeing one for free.”

Department of Parks and Wildlife officers fenced the area, warning seals could become aggressive.

People have been banned from using torches and flash photography after 10pm because it could upset and disorient the animal, though he couldn’t have been more chilled out spending the afternoon wallowing at the water’s edge. DPaW wildlife officer Rick Dawson said the seal had been hunting at sea and came ashore to rest and moult, and could remain for up to a month.

“He hauled up at Scarborough dog beach briefly but it obviously wasn’t to his liking, which is not a bad thing because generally seals and dogs don’t get on,’’ he said.

Earlier, beachgoers were disappointed when the only trace of Steven was a car-sized divot in the sand.

Sorrento businesses said the seal kept cash registers ringing all week.

The seal even has his own Twitter account, featured in Tourism Australia social media updates, and caused a stir when one spectator gave him a “slap”.

The species is occasionally seen on WA beaches but rarely as far north as Perth, although one hauled out at Exmouth and stayed for five years.

#sorrentoseal@perthnowpic.twitter.com/ZnXOut2rQX

■ THANKS FOR THE TWEET MEMORIES, STEVE

The animal swam ashore on Wednesday and has been unperturbed by all the attention it has received from visitors day and night - until one onlooker patted the seal and narrowly avoided an angry backlash from its tail.

The onlooker’s foolish actions prompted a warning for the public to stay away from the unpredictable animal and wildlife officers erected a fence to prevent people coming too close.

The star attraction of Sorrento Beach was mostly resting up and drawing daily crowds by the hundreds. The 2000kg mammal even caused traffic woes, with families parking illegally to see the seal.

Sunbathing and snoozing on Sorrento Beach, the young male quickly became a popular attraction for beachgoers and drew crowds to the northern suburbs beach.

The seal even has his own Twitter account, which has already amassed more than 500 followers.

This morning it tweeted, “Ok I said I might head off to Rotto for a swim this morning”.

Check out all PerthNow’s pictures of the seal

Wildlife officers said it was possible the seal could stay on land for up to a month.

While DPAW is the main agency in charge of the situation, Hillarys Police were also keeping a presence at Sorrento to make sure the crowd stays orderly.

DPaW officer Matt Swan said the seal had most likely spent a long period hunting in the water and was using a haul-out period to rest on the beach.

The mammals hunt far off the coast in deep waters, which makes them very tired, he said.

If the seal reappeared, Mr Swan urged curious beachgoers to keep a safe distance of at least 30m and warned people not get in between the seal and the water.

Seals can inflict a bite similar to that of a large dog and can move faster than humans.

“We are asking beachgoers not to approach the seal and to keep their dogs on leads as seals behaviour can be very unpredictable,” Mr Swan said.

”If it is harassed by people trying to get too close, it may feel threatened and react aggressively.”

DPaW said seals were generally found in waters around sub-Antarctic islands.

While it was unusual for one to haul out this far north, there had been previous occurrences, the department said.

A large male that hauled out in the Exmouth area remained there for five years.