When a numb nautical mammal washes up on the shore , biologists will often execute a necropsy to determine the causal agency of the creature ’s demise . But for Gilligan , an Indo - Pacific bottlenose dolphin come up on a beach in Southwest Australia , there was a pretty obvious external hint .
The unseasoned male cetacean was discovered with the tentacles of the Maori octopus he drop dead to death on still hang out of his rima oris .
In a case study published inMarine Mammal Science , principal author and diagnostician Dr Nahiid Stephens from Murdoch University chronicle the bizarre and darkly comedic finding .
Describing the likely trend of events during Gilligan ’s last moments , Dr Stephens inferred toNational Geographicthat he “ seems to have been extremely greedy and think , ‘ You fuck what , I ’m go to swallow it whole . ’ ”
cephalopod are commonprey for dolphinfish , but seemingly this otherwise extremely healthy bottlenose simply leave the necessity ofchewing one ’s nutrient – particularly if said bite is a member of the third largest octopus coinage in the world , with a potential branch twain of almost 2.1 meters ( 7 foot ) .
During the post - mortem , Dr Stephens ’ team observed that the octopus ’s head had been severed and swallowed , but the arm had a hit a rent on their way down the crosshatch .
Like world , dolphin have a protective tissue anatomical structure called the epiglottis in their throats that cover the chess opening to the airway , or larynx . When breathing , our epiglottis stands heart-to-heart to let melodic phrase into the voice box , but when we rust , it pulls tight against the larynx ’s entrance to keep food from entering .
Through opportunity ( or perhaps some skullduggery from the octopodian great beyond ) , one 0.6 - meter - recollective ( 2 - foot - long ) tentacle managed to adhere itself to the back of Gilligan ’s oral cavity during the hoo-hah , pinning the epiglottis in lieu and blocking the larynx . The seal of approval created by the mark was so strong that air immobilize in the dolphinfish ’s lungs did n’t escape until the biologist absent the tentacle ’s sucker . The prescribed cause of death was thus rule as " non - drowning asphyxiation " , or " end by devilfish " .
" That devilfish might have been , in theory , dead , but the sucker was still functional,“saidStephens . And though both animals departed , " the devilfish get a bit of a last hurrah . "
If anyone is wonder how the study of an underseaDarwin Awardsscenario come to be key out after a authoritative TV character , Seeker writesthat Gilligan was actually part of a well - studied Indo - Pacific dolphin population . He was originally photograph and named by a group of researcher in 2007 . It accept until 2015 ( when his body was found ) , however , for the tragical appropriateness of this soubriquet to uncover itself . Just like the titulary type of Gilligan ’s Island , this dolphin appear prostrate to bad decisions .
[ H / T : National Geographic ]
