Off the coast of South Africa, these male bottlenose dolphins have left their pods to join groups of other males to play with.
Jostling one another, they scuffle – finding a potentially lethal toy to play with: a pufferfish. “Passing the puffer” has become a popular dolphin pastime, with young dolphins throwing and catching it among themselves.
The pufferfish is one of the deadliest fish in the sea, exuding a powerful nerve poison called tetrodotoxin - one of nature's deadliest poisons. Just a small amount of this toxin is enough to kill a human, so these dolphins are dancing with death during this game.
The dolphins chew on the pufferfish, holding it gently in their mouths. Secretions of the lethal toxin have a narcotic effect, which the dolphins are likely to be experiencing. Adolescent dolphins are among the animals that enjoy getting high, playing with and antagonising some of the deadliest animals in the sea, just enough to make them release a small amount of neurotoxins. The dolphins will become "blissed out" as they pass the pufferfish between themselves.
Fortunately, dolphins and pufferfish survive the encounter and live to fight another day.
BBC Earth captured this exciting footage using “Spy Creatures” – cameras disguised as sea animals, including the Spy Turtle.
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