Christ, that hits hard.

Kerry locals believed there is a "strong likelihood" they may never see Fungie again. The beloved dolphin and tourist attraction was reported missing one week ago, and despite rumours that he had been spotted swimming around Dingle peninsula, locals now fear the worst. RTÉ News reports that fishermen and divers have been undergoing extensive searches of the area to no avail. It now looks like the bottlenose dolphin, who has brought joy to many over the course of his 40 year stay, may no longer be with us. Marine biologist Kevin Flannery said that Fungie might have went out to sea to feed with other dolphins, but that there is also a chance the dolphin may have died. "We think he was about nine years of age when he first arrived here in 1983 so that puts him at 45," he said. The experts tell us that the usual life-span of a dolphin is in and around 45-50." "He is a wild animal living in the wild. Attempting to catch fish at that age is challenging for him. There's a possibility he could have picked up an infection and could have died." This comes after reports that Fungie was found after a two-day search last week. A local fisherman told RTÉ that he had seen the iconic dolphin swimming alongside his boat, and that he had no doubt in his mind that is was, indeed, Fungie.  It appears though, that it wasn't, because the dolphin has now been missing for a solid seven days and locals fear that he may never be found. A cruel world we live in, truly.