Dolphins getting high…..did you read that right? BBC recently made a documentary called “Spy in the pod” depicting a peculiar and controversial topic: dolphins getting high on puffer fish. You may be doubting your own mind’s consciousness, but it’s true according to series producer and zoologist Rob Pilley, “it was the first time dolphins had been filmed behaving this way”.
The footage that has been making international headlines, show the dolphins in a trance-like state. It’s the first time being documented that dolphins are apparently partaking in recreational drug use. Hanging around with their noses at the surface of the water and seemingly fascinated by their own reflection: a result of intoxication from puffer fish?
Take a look at a video clip from the documentary: 
The toxin secreted by an attacked pufferfish is known as tetrodotoxine. 1000 times as potent as cyanide, exposure to this neuro-poison causes numbness in small doses, paralysis in medium doses, and death in high doses. A dose of 1-2 mg of purified toxin is deemed to be fatal.
- Intoxicated Dolphins? Image: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Veronica Birmingham. (Wikimedia Commons Images)
We know what this toxin can do to humans, but does it have the narcotic effect on dolphins as claimed and what do the critics think? Freelance science writer Justin Gregg stated on his blog that “there are no observations of this behavior reported in the peer-reviewed literature”. The evidence showing that the dolphins’ behaviour is linked to the tetrodotoxin is weak. Dolphin researcher Diana Reiss stated “I can tell you that when they’re not intoxicated, they are also fascinated by their reflection.” So all these actions are not at all unusual nor necessarily attributed to being “high”.
In my opinion, the wild behaviour of these dolphins can easily be explained by the psychoactive inducing tetrodotoxin. However, there is no strong evidence that there is a causal link between the dolphins chewing the puffer fish and getting intoxicated. Their response pattern preceding the chewing of the fish, although peculiar to humans, is nothing outlandish to these dolphins.
- Pufferfish: Drug of Choice. Image: Amanda (Wikimedia Commons)
At this point, we cannot confirm whether these astonishing marine mammals are getting high off their toxic chew toy. Perhaps future research on dolphin behaviour will enlighten us further on the tetrodotoxin’s effect. But if the dolphins are really getting a little high, we now know that spiky lethal creatures would be their drug of choice.
-Sophia Siyao Hu
Other Sources:
http://www.ndjglobalnews.com/15478/dolphins-get-high-puffer-fish.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/dolphins-getting-high-fish-toxin-or-just-load-puff-2D11849410
http://scienceblogs.com/lifelines/2014/01/03/more-throughts-on-dolphins-and-puffer-fish/
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