Dolphins deliberately get 'high' on puffer fish

It's not just humans who like to get wasted, experts have found that one of the most intelligent animals - dolphins - purposely get 'high' on puffer fish by carefully chewing and passing them around.
The BBC's forthcoming documentary 'Dolphins: Spy in the Pod' used cameras strapped to submersibles to follow dolphins in the wild.
Dolphins were caught on camera chewing on puffer fish that protect themselves by releasing a nerve toxin which, in low doses, appears to have a narcotic effect on the marine mammals, the 'Sunday Times' reported.
Using remote-controlled cameras disguised as sea creatures, the makers of the documentary watched as the male bottle-nose dolphins entered a trance-like state after apparently getting "high" on the toxin.

"This was a case of young dolphins purposely experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating ... After chewing the puffer gently and passing it round, they began acting most peculiarly, hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection," Rob Pilley, a zoologist and producer on the BBC1 series, said.
"It reminded us of that craze a few years ago when people started licking toads to get a buzz, especially the way they hung there in a daze afterwards. It was the most extraordinary thing to see," said Pilley.