14 DAY TRIAL // As a camera crew with BBC One was filming a new documentary film, entitled Dolphins: Spy in the Pod, the cameramen noticed a peculiar behavior among the sea creatures. The dolphins appeared to have figured out how to get high, by using a fish known to release a potent nerve toxin.
The puffer fish produces this compound when it gets excited, or when its life is threatened. In large doses, the chemical is deadly, but what surprised the camera crew was that the dolphins appeared to have mastered a technique of getting the puffer fish to release just the right amount of the stuff.
One dolphin would catch the fish, and then nibble on it for a while, before passing the living, yet confused, fish to another dolphin, which in turn did the same. The behavior appeared to be more widespread among juveniles in the pod, The Independent reports.
After consuming the nerve toxin, the dolphins went into a trance-like state, where they acted peculiarly, and spent a great deal of time with their noses close to the surface, as if mesmerized by their own reflection. Filming this behavior was made possible by the use of hidden cameras, disguised as sea creatures that the dolphins come across every day.