
Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013) - maxerickson
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2530664/High-not-dry-Dolphins-filmed-chewing-toxic-puffer-fish-enjoy-narcotic-like-effects.html
======
frereubu
One thing to note here - the Daily Mail has been banned from Wikipedia due to
its "reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism." [0] Seems there
may be a study behind the headline at least, but be aware that it's a
_terrible_ newspaper.

[0]
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/08/wikipedia...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/08/wikipedia-
bans-daily-mail-as-unreliable-source-for-website)

------
jancsika
I just followed that link on a Chromebook without any adblocker installed. I
count 4 huge ads that take up about 75% of the screen real estate. The two
sidebar ads regenerate new ads probably as fast as newbies respawn in a first-
person shooter.

Thanks to that _and an auto-playing video_ , CPU usage is up so high I can't
even scroll in the small area that remains for the content. It's nearly
impossible to successfully read the content for the jank and the distraction
from ad respawns on that page. This is a computer which can still play video
smoothly on Youtube. (Ignoring for the moment the problem of time-stealing ads
on Youtube.)

~~~
praptak
It's better to flag the article.

------
rv-de
> But it seems they share some worrying vices as well.

Is this meant serious or ironical. I hope the latter I fear it's the former.

> At one point the dolphins are seen floating just underneath the water's
> surface, apparently mesmerised by their own reflections.

An animal that seeks intentionally a consciousness-expanding experience must
be conscious on a higher level. Evolutionarily such behavior mostly handicaps
the ability to defend - so it must be addressing a psychological desire.

~~~
Malician
That doesn't necessarily follow: it may occur as a result of adaptation for
another, more beneficial behavior.

~~~
scotty79
Like in humans?

------
petrikapu
I spammed my friends when I tried to copy & paste title from the web page. It
seems when I copy I actually get some extra spammy content to my clipboard. In
my opinion this is also toxic.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
...did you not read the contents of your pasted message before hitting send?

I agree this is annoying but I don't think it quite rises to the level of
"toxic".

~~~
pdpht
If you use a CLI IM application, like an IRC client, you're toasted. I've been
bit by this. The real question is why are websites allowed to manipulate what
I copy into my clipboard. Imagine if, instead of adding some spam to the text,
they slightly changed what the text says.

------
faitswulff
Discover Magazine has its doubts:

[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-
sushi/2013/12/30/s...](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-
sushi/2013/12/30/stoned-dolphins-give-puff-puff-pass-whole-new-meaning/)

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) doesn't make sense as a narcotic:

> Tetrodotoxin simply doesn’t make sense as a drug (and let’s be honest—if it
> did, humans would be snorting it off bathroom counters already). In very,
> very, very low doses, tetrodotoxin causes numbness, tingling, and the slight
> lightheadedness that fugu, the Japanese preparation of raw pufferfish flesh,
> is known for. I guess it’s possible to see how one might relate these mild
> effects to the “high” feeling that comes from THC, the main ingredient in
> marijuana*, but it’s a stretch to say the least. Every illicit drug has one
> thing in common: they alter minds. It’s right there in the definition of
> narcotic. Tetrodotoxin, however, doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier; it
> doesn’t change perception or enhance sensation. People get poisoned with TTX
> every year, and there’s a reason you don’t hear anyone describing the
> experience as a ‘high’: that’s not how tetrodotoxin works.

~~~
GuiA
It’s a good thing people are looking at it from a pharmacological perspective.

However:

 _> In very, very, very low doses, tetrodotoxin causes numbness, tingling, and
the slight lightheadedness that fugu, the Japanese preparation of raw
pufferfish flesh, is known for._

 _> Tetrodotoxin, however, doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier; it doesn’t
change perception or enhance sensation_

How is “numbness and light headedness” not “changing perception”?

And how do we know that dolphins do not experience the “numbness and light
headedness” that humans do as a pleasant/euphoric/etc sensation?

Seems a little light of a rebuttal.

The article is also hilarious for qualifying purported dolphin use as “illicit
drug use”. I knew about bird law, but not dolphin law :)

------
Scipio_Afri
Gah.. they're citing the daily news which has a lot of tabloid quality
articles.

~~~
maxerickson
It's a write up of a BBC One documentary:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphins_-
_Spy_in_the_Pod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphins_-_Spy_in_the_Pod)

~~~
slowmovintarget
...which has been on Netflix for a few years.

Ah... needs a "[2013]" in the title.

------
DyslexicAtheist
[ _checks the score of other mammals_ ]

LaPorte man arrested, accused of licking toad in restaurant parking lot
[https://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/LaPorte-man-arrested-
acc...](https://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/LaPorte-man-arrested-accused-of-
licking-toad-in-restaurant-parking-lot-309089671.html)

------
GuiA
_> But it seems [dolphins] share some worrying vices as well._

It's interesting how the author construes it as a "vice" by the second
paragraph. That's a very Anglo-Saxon take on it (i.e. I doubt a Japanese or
Brazilian journalist would have interpreted it so harshly from the get go).

In fact, getting inebriated seems pretty common in the animal kingdom, making
it not much more of a vice than mating, napping, or eating tasty food:

[http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140528-do-animals-take-
dru...](http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140528-do-animals-take-drugs)

I'd even argue that seeking to alter your state of mind comes with the
territory of well, having a mind. Why else would people like roller coasters,
movies, video games, coffee, etc. so much?

~~~
r00fus
Exactly. They’re kindred spirits, our porpoise-ful friends. First sex, then
drugs, now we just need rock&roll.

~~~
toufiqbarhamov
I wonder if anyone has ever studied their reaction to human musical
compositions? All I can find are articles concerned about the impact of sonar
and ship noise, but as a purely intellectual pursuit would they enjoy Motzart?
Drum and Bass? God help us... Ke$ha?!

~~~
Meerax
Since dolphins hear so differently than humans, we'd probably have to
transcribe (translate?) it to a version more suitable for them. Also with the
much wider hearing range they are more sensitive to sounds and, I'm assuming,
would not enjoy our narrower range of music. It would be very fascinating to
study.

------
joeseeder
are they capable of metabolising the toxin ?

~~~
toufiqbarhamov
Sort of, and humans sort of can too. The only metabolite of TTX I’m aware of
is just the oxidized form. Primarily though it’s excreted “whole” through
urine. It actually doesn’t matter if dolphins can metabolize it any better
than humans if they’re getting a low dose per kg. Humans eat puffer fish for
the same reason, the residual toxin in the flesh gets you a little high. As
long as it’s a non-lethal dose, you excrete it (primarily in urine).

It’s also a potent analgesic at low doses, so maybe they do it primarily for
the buzz, or to relieve aches and pains.

------
neeraga
Probably written by GP2.

------
anthk
So that's why Dolphin crashes under OpenBSD by not having enough free RAM?

------
Fnoord
[2013] (article is from 30 Dec 2013)

~~~
sctb
Thanks! We've also updated the link from
[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dolphins-seem-
to-u...](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dolphins-seem-to-use-toxic-
pufferfish-to-get-high-180948219/), which points to this.

~~~
driverdan
Neither are good sources. The Smithsonian Mag article is blogspam and Daily
Mail is a tabloid.

~~~
sctb
We'll gladly update the link if someone can suggest a better one.

------
nickpsecurity
I made a meme for this:

[https://memegenerator.net/instance/84125558/dolphin-dan-
litt...](https://memegenerator.net/instance/84125558/dolphin-dan-littering-
and-littering-and-smokin-tha-puffer)

