'I’m hoping he’s happy and safe somewhere' - Still no sign of Fungie

Rescue divers in Dingle say they spent yesterday searching the sea bed in Dingle Harbour for any trace of Fungie the Dolphin.

Fungie the famous Dingle dolphin has not been spotted since late last week, and locals are now 'very worried' about him.  Picture: Sean Manion/RollingNews.ie

Rescue divers in Dingle spent yesterday searching the sea bed in Dingle Harbour for any trace of Fungie the dolphin.

Mallow Search and Rescue was also asked to take part in the search for the famous porpoise, who has been missing since last week.

The search teams who went out into the harbour yesterday say they used sonar to scan the seafloor, as well as sending divers down.

 

Some local fishermen claim to have caught a glimpse of Fungie late last week, but there has been no sign of him since then. 

Speaking on Newstalk this morning, Captain Jimmy Flannery of Dingle Dolphin Tours said that despite the "extensive" search, there was still no sign of Fungie.

There’s no doubt about it, this is totally out of character for him.

"I’m doing this for the last 33 years and in all that time he has never disappeared for this length of time, so it is very worrying.

Speculating as to the reason for Fungie’s disappearance, Mr Flannery said there were different things happening in the bay that were “more unusual than normal.” 

Unfortunately after another day of searching for Fungie yesterday we have nothing new to report.
We want to thank the team at mallow search and rescue for all their help.
We didn’t find him but that gives us hope he is out and about somewhere.
We will carry on the search today.🐬

— Dingle Dolphin Boat Tours (@dingle_dolphin) October 19, 2020

He said there was a lot more feed, such as sprat, out on the bay, and that there were a lot more whales and dolphins seen near to the area in which Fungie most often appears.

"We’re hopeful a small pod has come in and enticed him away," said Mr Flannery. 

Hand on heart I’m hoping that he’s just off on an adventure and that he’s happy and he’s safe somewhere.

“Even after all this time, Fungie still surprises us. 

"I'm hoping and praying that this is something new and that he has just decided that, maybe my time in Dingle is done, and I want to get off another adventure. We’re not ruling that out."