[2013] (article is from 30 Dec 2013)
Thanks! We've also updated the link from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dolphins-seem-to-u..., which points to this.
Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
11–20 of 39 posts
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#12Gah.. they're citing the daily news which has a lot of tabloid quality articles.
It's a write up of a BBC One documentary:
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#13I 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.
...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".
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#14> 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...
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?
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#15> 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…
Exactly. They’re kindred spirits, our porpoise-ful friends. First sex, then drugs, now we just need rock&roll.
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#16Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#17I 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.
In Firefox you can go to about:config and toggle 'dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled' to false to prevent sites from doing this.
Thank you!! :-D
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#18are they capable of metabolising the toxin ?
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.
Re: Dolphins apparently getting 'high' with the help of toxic puffer fish (2013)
#19> 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.