Young dolphins in Western Australia like to pass around blowfish — probably to get high, according to new research.
Krista Nicholson, a researcher at Murdoch University in Perth, observed young porpoises holding a blowfish in their mouths for several hours, before passing it along to their friends. But they never actually eat the blowfish — they just chew on one and then toss it around.
Blowfish contain a toxin known as tetrodotoxin, which is lethal for humans. But scientists claim that small doses in dolphins put them in a trance-like state.
The suggestion that the dolphins are getting high isn’t a new observation — a research paper from 1995 noted the same behavior with bottle-nosed dolphins in Portugal, and a 2014 BBC documentary was the first to film the unusual behavior.
“This was a case of young dolphins purposely experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating,” Rob Pilley, a producer on the series, told the Sunday Times ahead of the premiere. “It was the most extraordinary thing to see.”
But some scientists are in disagreement over the dolphins’ behavior: While many believe in the above “puff, puff, pass” theory, others — including Nicholson — say the tetrodotoxin only makes the dolphins feel numb, not high.
Either way, dolphins aren’t the only members of the animal kingdom who know how to get a buzz. Elephants eat fermented fruit to get drunk, Siberian reindeer munch on hallucinogenic mushrooms and wallabies like to get high off poppies.