(LibertySociety.com) – When wildlife documentary producer John Downer set out to uncover the secret lives of wild dolphins, he never dreamed he’d find them partying like the cast of “That ‘70s Show” in Forman’s basement. Yet, as this story reveals, that’s almost exactly what happened.
In the BBC series “Spy in the Pod,” Downer filmed a group of young dolphins chewing on a live pufferfish and passing it around for nearly 30 minutes. When the playful mammals first caught the sea creature, it ballooned and emitted a “defensive chemical” neurotoxin in hopes of escape. But instead of taking the hint and fleeing the scene, the experienced crew took small hits of the poison to get high.
Dolphins chew on puffer fish to get high pic.twitter.com/Rvoe1OBTlt
— Deep Water Life (@DeepWaterLife) August 5, 2021
And that takes some doing, considering the tetrodotoxin from a pufferfish can cause “lethal food poisoning in humans.” So, it’s clear that the pod had previous experience using the fish for pure recreation.
Once the group started feeling the effects, they headed to the surface, rolling around and admiring their own reflections while in a “trance-like state.” Some even appeared to be smiling as they enjoyed the ride. The gang did let their unwilling victim go after they’d had their fill of the fun game; it promptly deflated and swam away.
Now the only question left to answer is this: Do dolphins get the munchies, too?
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