Acting Up on Porpoise
We’ve been fans of Nature’s recent miniseries Spy in the Wild (finishing tonight, Wednesday, March 1.) The series has given us an inside look at real animal behavior when they don’t know anyone is looking courtesy of spy cameras hidden in animal mannequins nearby. This clip from episode 4, “Bad Behavior” follows a gang of teenaged male dolphins. Seems the lads are like most youths, unruly and too rambunctious for orderly family life. So much so, they’re banished away for good. So what do they do? Surf and hang out in gangs, of course – and spend some time playing ping pong with a puffer fish. But it also turns out they might be getting a gas out of the neurotoxin the puffer carries as a defense. It’s a bit of a debate among marine experts that that’s what’s actually going on here, but it sure seems like the kids are feeling alright. –Eric Gould