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There is growing concern for the well-being of Fungie, the famous Dingle dolphin, who has been missing for four days.
Up to six ships have been searching again since dawn this morning.
In recent days, an extensive search has been conducted at the mouth of Dingle Harbor, where Fungie normally lives, but this morning the area has been expanded to cover a ten-mile stretch of sea along Kerry’s west coast. .
Boatman Gary Brosnan said fears were mounting, but he was still hopeful.
“This is pretty serious now. Fungie rarely leaves the mouth of the harbor and has never been missing for so long,” he said.
“We have an east wind blowing from the land at the moment and that tends to push fish life out to sea.
“Our hope is that Fungie has gone out following the feeding and will come back to us once the wind comes to the southwest,” he said.
“We saw a pod of common dolphins feeding about two miles out to sea, but Fungie wasn’t among them. That’s no surprise, he doesn’t like common dolphins,” he added.
Fungie, a wild bottlenose dolphin, first came to Dingle in 1983.
Its friendly nature and tendency to interact with humans helped establish Dingle as a major tourist destination, with people coming from all over to witness the lively dolphin.
Concern is growing in the city of Dingle, where many rely on by-product tourism generated by the dolphin.
Up to 12 ships operate daily trips, employing more than 50 people.
The trips also generate a substantial influx of restaurants, pubs, gift shops, hotels and guesthouses in the city.
The boatmen continue their search for Fungie throughout the day.
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