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Unlikely Friendship Between a Minnesota Woman and a Sunfish Enters Its Ninth Year

By Sarah Currier on July 14, 2024

In the Midwest state of Minnesota, sunfish, or centrarchidae, are valued as delicious freshwater fish since they are extremely common and easy to catch. But when a lake resident named Holly Jorgensen encountered a green sunfish on the edge of her dock nine years ago, she saw the creature as a friend rather than food.

“He looked at me like I've never had a fish look at me,” Jorgensen told a local news outlet when reminiscing about their first encounter.

To this day, that feeling remains. “He sure does seem like a special fish. He just acts different from other fish.”

Since that first encounter, Jorgensen and “Greenie”—as she has dubbed him—have formed a unique human-animal bond. Every summer, after the lake's ice thaws, she returns to the dock to feed the sunfish fresh worms and other snacks. Greenie seems to have benefited from this tender loving care; he is as big as a medium-sized frying pan, making him particularly large for his species.

Regardless of the obvious lure of food, the sunfish seems to relish in Jorgensen's company. He's always more than willing to accept a chin scratch, making him stand out from other fish in her lake. And sometimes, when Jorgensen jumps into the water for a swim, Greenie will accompany her all the way to the other side of the lake.

While the sunfish has brought other friends along with him, including a smaller sunfish named Spot and a bass named Slim, Greenie has remained a constant in Jorgensen's life, returning to her dock every summer since they first met. Her friendship with the fish has impacted her so much, in fact, that she is working on a book about him called Greenie and the Girl, and she regularly posts updates about it on her website. You can also watch videos of Greenie, as well as other animals around Jorgensen's property, on YouTube.

For more on Jorgensen and Greenie, check out the video below.