Sammy steals Shire limelight

It’s been more than a week since Sammy the Seal rolled into the Shire, and he’s showing no signs of moving on any time soon.

Sammy arrived at the Hobbiton Movie Set on October 17, quickly taking a liking to the eels that roam beneath him in the Hobbiton Lake in Matamata.

He’s been spotted throwing and chasing the eels and began branching out in recent days.

Although, he hasn’t quite made it into one of the hobbit-holes. Yet.

If he’s not in the water, Sammy can be spotted lounging in the bushes or sunbathing on the branches by the water, Hobbiton’s deputy chief executive Shayne Forrest said.

‘‘On Sunday we thought he had left, we couldn’t find him for half the day, but he was later found in some bushes,’’ Forrest said.

‘‘He doesn’t seem to be fazed by anything really. He just cruises around, throws the eels around and chases them.

‘‘There must have been a lot more eels than we originally thought.’’

Plus, punters who turn up to tour Sir Peter Jackson’s movie set get a nice surprise, too.

‘‘People are enjoying Sammy’s presence, we get people asking us if he’s still here,’’ Forrest said.

‘‘They don’t expect to do some seal spotting on their tour and those who don’t know about Sammy are surprised when they see him in the lake.’’

Sammy was named after the film’s fictional character Samwise Gamgee – the loyal hobbit who joined Frodo Baggins on his journey.

And he’s welcome to stay for as long as he likes, Forrest added.

‘‘Pickles, the movie set cat, has been the star of The Shire for a while now, but now there’s a new star stealing the spotlight.’’