Dolphins are the playful, intelligent stars of the marine world. For the longest time, we have marveled at their natural penchant for acrobatics and their innate ability to communicate through clicks and whistles.
However, these aquatic mammals are much more complex and fascinating beneath this playful exterior than they are given credit for. They boast advanced social behaviors, cognitive abilities comparable to those of great apes and a few surprising habits you’d never expect.
Here are three mind-blowing facts about dolphins that showcase their astonishing intelligence, as well as their peculiar behaviors—from recreational drug use to echolocation abilities that could rival technology on submarines.
Dolphins Use Pufferfish To Get High
Certain species of dolphins, such as bottlenose dolphins, have been observed handling pufferfish with surprising care, likely to induce the release of small amounts of the fish’s toxins, which appear to have a narcotic effect on the dolphins.
Pufferfish secrete tetrodotoxin, which can inhibit the victim’s nervous system and is lethal in large doses. However, in small quantities, it acts as a narcotic, producing a trance-like state in the consumer.
Dolphins have been filmed delicately nibbling on pufferfish and passing them among their pod members. Scientists suspect they can manipulate the fish to get just the “right” dose during these sessions. Afterward, these mammals exhibited slow, trance-like behavior, floating near the surface, seemingly mesmerized by their surroundings.
It’s a behavior first documented by a BBC crew in 2013 for “Dolphins: Spy in the Pod” and is one of the most fascinating examples of animals deliberately seeking out altered mental states. While we cannot definitively conclude that dolphins understand the full extent of their behavior, their cautious handling of the pufferfish suggests an eye-opening level of awareness and control.
Dolphin Communication Is Very Advanced
While dolphins are already famed for their communication ability, scientists now believe they have a complex language. Dolphins use a combination of clicks, whistles and body movements to communicate, with recent research suggesting that their vocalizations might follow a linguistic structure similar to human languages.
Each dolphin has a unique “signature whistle” akin to a name, which it uses to identify itself to others, according to an October 1998 article in Animal Behaviour. This includes scenarios when they find themselves separated from their pod or are saying hello to new dolphins.
But this communication goes much deeper than just identification. Dolphins use their clicks and whistles to relay detailed information, and scientists have observed that their vocalizations follow a form of syntax—rules for combining sounds—a hallmark of human language.
Groundbreaking work conducted by marine biologist Denise Herzing on wild dolphins in the Bahamas revealed that these intelligent mammals even appeared to use “words” to describe objects and actions. Through years of observation and acoustic recordings, Herzing’s team discovered they could convey abstract ideas, like asking for a specific object or signaling that they wanted to play.
This level of sophistication in communication coupled with their highly social nature suggests that dolphin pods operate within a framework of complex and dynamic social rules and hierarchies.
Dolphins Use Echolocation With A Remarkable Level of Precision
Echolocation is a biological sonar that allows dolphins to “see” with sound. By emitting a series of high-frequency clicks and listening to the echoes that bounce back, they can detect objects as small as fish, or as large as a ship, in murky or dark waters where their vision is impaired.
It’s not just a survival tool, however. It’s a skill that dolphins have mastered to the point where it rivals some of humanity’s most advanced technology. They can use echolocation to discern not just the size of the object but also its shape, speed and internal structure. For example, they use it to ‘see’ the inside of a fish to determine whether it’s worth pursuing based on its size and bone structure.
This ability is so precise, in fact, that scientists are studying it to improve the sonar systems used in submarines and other naval applications. But in yet another example of how nature often leads the way when it comes to innovation, we still haven’t replicated the sensitivity and accuracy of dolphin echolocation.
There Is Still Much To Unravel
Dolphins are far more than just charming marine mammals that the media and pop culture have made them out to be. They are complex, intelligent and mysterious creatures whose behavior challenges our understanding of animal cognition and social structures.
Whether they’re getting high on pufferfish, communicating in their own language or using high-precision echolocation, dolphins continue to surprise and fascinate us—and the more we learn about them, the more we realize how little we know.
The extent of dolphin intelligence continues to surprise scientists even today, with their similarity to human behavior quite awe-inducing. Curious to see how you connect with the natural world? Take this 14-question test and discover how one you are with Mother Nature: Connectedness To Nature Scale