Yes, Those Are Dolphins With an Anaconda. There's a Perfectly Good Explanation

The natural world around us is fascinating and often very odd, like when researchers snapped a photo of dolphins swimming with a snake in their mouths.

It is unusual for river dolphins to have their heads above water for long periods of time, and to be juggling a snake between their jaws at the same time.

While it is not clear what was going on here, dolphins and cetaceans are well known for their playful activities, activities in which other animals might be involved, voluntarily or otherwise.

The photo was taken in August of 2021. After looking at the pictures of the dolphins, researchers got a better idea of what was going on.

After checking on the first images, we realized that a snake was handled by the dolphins, and while it was difficult to estimate their group size, there were at least six of them.

It became clear that they were playing with the snake and not trying to eat it.

The dolphins interacted with the snake in a few different ways, occasionally swimming together in a synchronized way but mostly staying in the same area as the researchers watched over the course of 7 minutes.

It is possible that the dolphins were teaching each other about the snake, the researchers say, or perhaps eating it rather than playing with it. There is a chance that the activity was sexual.

The researchers were able to observe on the photographs that the adult males were sexually aroused while engaging in object play with the anaconda.

There were juvenile on the scene as well, and it seemed that the adults were showing off the snake to them.

The Beni anaconda can grow up to 2 meters (6-and-a-half feet) and live in the same part of the world as the Bolivian river dolphin.

Even if the details of what's going on aren't clear, this is still a useful insight into how river dolphins are difficult to observe.

It is likely that the experience did not end well for the snake. The researchers think that it was probably dead by the end, because it didn't move during the interactions and stayed underwater for a long time.

The New York Times reported that one of the team, a biologist from the Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum, said that the snake had a bad time.

The research has been published.