Fungie sustains deep wound from propeller blade

Fungie the dolphin has sustained a deep blade cut, probably by the propeller of a visiting boat, with a deep cut going as far as the dorsal fin.

The cut on the famous Dingle Harbour dolphin was spotted yesterday.

The dolphin’s fan page on Facebook, “Fungie Forever”, says while Fungie lovers are “gutted”, followers should not panic. It says Fungie, after staying quiet and under the water for a while, re-emerged to jump and play.

“It looks deep, wide and red but we have seen deeper wounds on other dolphins that healed quite well,” the fan page says.

The much-loved dolphin has sustained injuries before, to the underside of his rostrum, and has recovered and has some scarring to his dorsal fin.

“Fungie has always healed well,” his fans are reassured.

According to the Facebook page, Fungie knows the local boats and the danger of their propellers, but is sometimes attracted to visiting boats.

The bottlenose dolphin first emerged in the harbour around 1983 playing alongside the boats of fishermen returning to Dingle. They named him Fungie. He has remained in the harbour since and he has spawned a whole industry around him.

Eight Fungie boats operate in the harbour to carry passengers out to see him, and souvenirs, photographs, and books crowd the local shops. A sculpture of Fungie is at the entrance to the marina.