Locals snapped this incredible shot of Fungie the dolphin in Dingle Harbor in County Kerry back in 2014, when the harbor's resident of 30 years almost leapt into their boat.
David Millard and Mike Murphy were returning from work when the lone bottle-nosed dolphin, who has delighted sea-goers in the area with his friendly antics for decades, leapt out of the water just two feet away from their boat.
Murphy, who runs Irish Atlantic Seaweed, took the photo on his cellphone.
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He told the Daily Mail, “Paul Flannery, a joint partner in Dingle Bay Seaweed who also runs Dingle Bay Charters, has often told us of Fungi's exploits and we were hoping he'd come and play.
“As he blasted out of the water, we got such a shock as he was so fast, so high and so close to us. The boat is only about 16 foot long and he'd be nearly the same length.”
Millard, who works for the Irish Sean Fisheries Boards, said, “Mike is always on his phone so he started snapping away and as Fungi repeated his jump for the third time he got him.
“We were delighted and laughing all the way home. It was definitely a good day at the office.”
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The photo went viral, unsurprisingly, after Millard’s brother, Stephen, uploaded the photo to Twitter.
Fungie was first spotted in Dingle Harbour in 1984. It’s estimated that he’s 40 years old, a venerable age for a dolphin. Now thought to be the world’s most famous dolphin, he has remained in Dingle for 30 years.
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