#MarineWildlife - Twitter user Derek Byrne was bemused by the sight of a large seal being chased from the door of a fishmonger’s as he drove through Wicklow town on Wednesday afternoon.
But for the townsfolk, Sammy the Seal has long been something of a local celebrity — or nuisance, if you ask the staff of The Fishman on South Quay.
They might well be saying that with tongue firmly in cheek, however, given that a sign across the street says ‘seal crossing’ and that T-shirts sporting an image of the gregarious seal can be purchased nearby, as the Guardian reports.
Just witnessed this giant seal being chased out the door of a fishmongers shop in Wicklow town. pic.twitter.com/WGlGxlAWfs
— Derek Byrne (@Derek1052) November 22, 2017
Indeed, Afloat.ie readers may remember when Sammy last appeared here in February 2016 — after one of his regular forays from the River Vartry for fishy snacks as thwarted at the end of an umbrella.
Yet despite the local fondness for Sammy, and the seal’s growing internet notoriety, Alan Hegarty of The Fishman and the adjacent Lighthouse Restaurant warns: “At the end of the day he is a wild animal and we want him to remain that way.”
