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ORIGINALLY FEARED to disappear after reports on social media, the popular dolphin Fungie has been discovered by a local fisherman off the Dingle shoreline in Kerry.
The bottlenose dolphin is said to have been seen for the first time in Dingle in 1983, but it was feared that it had disappeared after it had not been seen since Wednesday morning.
During the tourist season, the friendly Fungie is a popular attraction with thousands of people waiting to see the dolphin.
Fungie has a devoted following, and the Facebook page “Fungie Forever Photos of the Dingle Dolphin” had posted that a search was conducted yesterday to try and track the dolphin.
Despite concerns that he may have left the area or passed away, the Facebook page, which has more than 30,000 followers, posted last night that they had seen him as a local fisherman.
Speaking to RTÉ News, fisherman Paul Hand said: “I am one thousand percent sure it was Fungie. I’ve been looking at it for the past 40 years. It was definitely him. He swam alongside my boat for a while as I headed out to the bay. “
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Hand said there were several other bottlenose dolphins in the area in recent days, which may explain why Fungie was not seen in the usual places he occupies.
He said: “There is a share of other bottlenose dolphins in the bay right now because the place is full of sprats. I saw at least five or six of them yesterday.
“There is a lot of feeding and what is happening is that Fungie is following the fishing boats into the bay and is deciding to continue feeding with the other dolphins. He’s enjoying the company. “
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