Dolphins Have Figured Out a Way To Get High off of Pufferfish... Yes, Really

If you've ever taken a D.A.R.E. class as a kid, chances are that you learned all about the dangers and effects of drugs. Even if you're too young to have been in school in the program's heyday, many health classes cover the topic of drug use as part of middle school and high school curricula, in an effort to keep children from getting addicted to drugs, alcohol, and even cigarettes.

However, the one thing that I don't ever remember seeing covered in those classes is drug use in animals.

Apparently, dolphins need D.A.R.E. just as much as America's youth did in the early 80s when it was founded, because it looks like they've found a way to tap into an unusual source of intoxication, leaving many wondering whether dolphins really do get high on pufferfish.

While I couldn't have ever imagined this scenario as a kid, it seems like there are a lot of videos of this phenomenon circulating online. Here's everything you need to know about the claims about drug-seeking dolphins.

The answer to this question appears to be a resounding yes. Dolphins have been documented having strange interactions with pufferfish in the wild. They have been filmed nudging the fish with their noses, pushing them back and forth to one another, and even tossing them out of the air, according to the Smithsonian magazine.

This causes the fish to go into defensive mode, which includes producing a chemical known as tetrodotoxin. And while it can be deadly to some, dolphins apparently like the high.

According to the BBC, this is particularly popular among adolescent dolphins who experience a "blissed out" feeling due to the neurotoxins. The footage was first captured by BBC Earth, using spy cameras that allowed them to get such candid footage of the interactions between a pod of young male dolphins and the fish.

So what happens to the pufferfish that are used in this manner? Other than getting jostled around (and traumatized) it doesn't sound like they get eaten as part of the process.

While the habits of drug-seeking dolphins seem unusual, they aren't the only animals in the wild kingdom who like to kill time by getting intoxicated. According to the BBC, animals like wallabies also like getting high, and they nosh on poppy plants, which leave them feeling dazed and confused.

Meanwhile, chimpanzees like a little afternoon cocktail by way of fermented African breadfruit, which has been known to contain ethanol.

The reindeer in Scandinavia get their kicks thanks to agaric toadstools, which apparently contain psychoactive alkaloids that experts say may make them hallucinate.

And then on the more innocent end of the spectrum, we have bees, who like to load up on caffeine by drinking the nectar of certain flowers, including citrus plants and coffee plants, which not only helps the bees to stay awake, but can also make them dance!