He became separated from other wild dolphins and lived in very close contact with the people of Dingle on the southwest coast of Ireland.

[7] Fungie was first seen in Dingle harbour in 1983 and continued to seek out human contact over the following 38 years.

[9][10] His long life led to rumours that the original Fungie had died at some point and been replaced with a lookalike to avoid damage to tourism.

Although it is normal for social animals like dolphins to live in close contact with each other, it is still a rare occurrence for them to seek out human contact, and Fungie is the first recorded occurrence of a dolphin interacting positively with humans in the wild in Ireland.

[14] Marine experts have declared that he either moved on to new waters, or simply died, and reported sightings by the general public after 15 October were dismissed as "well-intentioned, but incorrect".