When we think of animals that play, dogs and cats come to mind, but did you know that dolphins also play? However, not only do dolphins play with other animals like humpback whales, but they also play with another ocean animal! But do they really play with them? Read below to know!
A new study suggests that it’s actually possible that dolphins could be playing with these creatures by carrying them around in their mouths because they enjoy the sensation of their bodies slowly inflating as a result of their defense mechanism.
Dolphins are known to be smart animals, and now, researchers have evidence to suggest that dolphins might play with puffer fish to protect themselves from the sharp spines of the fish.
In a study published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, scientists from Japan report that dolphins carry around porcupine fishes (also known as balloonfishes) in their mouths and blow the fish up like balloons before throwing them back into the water to protect themselves against sharp spines on the fishes’ bodies.
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Why do dolphins play with puffer fish?
Dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet, so it’s no surprise that their social habits are as complex as they are fascinating. One such habit involves dolphins playing with puffer fish — but why do dolphins play with puffer fish? It turns out, there’s more to the story than you might expect! Read on to learn more about this fascinating topic.
Dolphins usually intentionally play with puffer fish in order to get high off the neurotoxin these marine animals naturally produce. Dolphins are not the only creatures that use these neurotoxins – many other mammals, and reptiles have been observed consuming hallucinogenic plants or prey that naturally produce mind-altering chemicals in order to improve their mood or make them more sociable.
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In other words, dolphins do play with puffer fish, in fact they love playing with puffer fish not only because they are small and easy to play with but also because they use these small puffer fish to get high.
When a dolphin plays with puffer fish?
While watching dolphins playing in the ocean, you might be surprised to see them carrying around puffer fish in their mouths. This might make you wonder when a dolphin plays with a puffer fish. Let’s find out.
When you see dolphins playing with puffer fish, they don’t mean any injury! Dolphins get the same sensation from these puffer fish as people do from smoking marijuana — they just want to get high!
These animals are intelligent and curious, and many scientists believe that they’re just trying to recreate the sensation of getting high naturally. Puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin, which is what gives them their high feeling.
Along with Puffer fish tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that paralyzes nerves and muscles, resulting in those famous puffing and inflation behaviors that can be more than 10 times more potent than cyanide.
How dolphin plays with puffer fish?
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Now that we know dolphins do play with puffer fish, what we don’t know is how? Do they toss these little fishes in the air or just play football with them? Let’s find out below!
You might not know this, but dolphins and puffer fish love to play together! The dolphin, being so much larger than the puffer fish, uses its body and fins to herd the puffer fish into little clusters where they both play by blowing bubble rings and swimming through them.
The dolphin also has fun by creating waves that carry the little fish into the air and then gently catches them as they fall back down. The dolphin even lets the puffer fish ride on its nose!
Along with that, did you know that Dolphins have been observed playing with puffer fish by putting them on their noses and watching them inflate to many times their normal size?
Did you know that they do this to get the fish to stick there so they can keep it as a pet? The dolphin will place the fish on its snout and swim around, watching the fish and staying entertained. Thus, dolphins have unique ways of playing with little puffer fish.
Do dolphins really play with puffer fish?
The intelligent, playful dolphin has long been considered to be one of the most advanced marine animals and now, new evidence suggests that dolphins may engage in playful behaviors with fish, the likes of which we haven’t seen before in non-human animals. But is that true? Let’s dive into it
Dolphins have been seen at times trying to play with puffer fish, which are also called blowfish or globefish, off the coast of Japan. They play with them to have fun under the water and to get high
Dolphins are famous for their intelligence and playfulness, and it turns out that some of the most common marine mammals aren’t just good at playing, they can also understand puffer fish signals!
Conclusion
To conclude, the fact that the dolphins are extremely smart and they find out that puffer fish are the thing which gives them the feeling of high. In short, they play with puffer fish and keep it in their mouth to get high, however they do not eat them up.