Dolphins experts consider the reasons dolphins terrorized puffer fish
Could it possibly have anything to do with the hallucinogenic effects?
The following written content from Crazy Creatures
We know dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror and literally sleep with one eye open. But there’s a darker, more mysterious side to them that involves its offbeat interaction with an animal deadly to us. It’s the adorable pufferfish, able to get dolphins high yet toxic enough to kill 30 people.
How can pufferfish cause some dolphins to get completely squiffed? Why would we end up six feet under if we tried the same thing? What other bizarre dolphin behavior might have you thinking twice about taking a swim with them?
The following written content from Monit Khanna
John Downer, an award-winning documentary filmmaker while shooting a series on dolphins for BBC One (from the year 2013) discovered that dolphins were actually playing and consuming a special kind of pufferfish in a rather strange way to cause it to release a toxin that would get them ‘high’.
Puffer fishes are known to contain tetrodotoxin which in small amounts can kill a human within minutes. However, for the dolphins, this toxin, according to experts, is known to create a narcotic effect when consumed in smaller amounts. It seems like dolphins have figured out how they can control the amount of toxin that’s released.
The documentary showed the fish carefully chewing on the pufferfish and actually passing it among one another like a game of underwater volleyball, after which they appeared to be in a trance-like state.
This rather surprising side of the dolphins was captured using spy cameras that were hidden in fake turtles, fish and squid, resulting in 900-hour footage showcasing the dolphins in their natural ways.
According to Downer (in a conversation with the Independent), the spy cameras were designed to “infiltrate the dolphin’s hidden lives” by looking like the marine creature they’d come across every day.
Rob Pilley, a zoologist, who was also a part of the documentary, explained what the dolphins were actually doing, in a conversation with the Sunday Times, “This was a case of young dolphins purposely experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating. After chewing the puffer gently and passing it around, they began acting most peculiarly, hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection.” Read more from IndiaTimes
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