Fukuoka Aquarium’s black finless porpoises proved themselves to be the true wizards of the sea earlier this month when they began blowing incredible bubble rings like Gandalf the Grey high on pipe-leaf, even passing them back and forth relay-style.

While it may seem like the work of aquatic sorcery, the porpoises’ performance is actually the result of long-term training by aquarium staff that takes advantage of instinctual behavior in the porpoise.

In the wild, the porpoises apparently blow onto the ocean floor to drive out small fish hiding in the sand.

You can see the below performance in the flesh by visiting the Fukuoka Aquarium at 1:40 p.m. weekdays, and 1:10 p.m. weekends and holidays; at least until the black finless porpoises, notorious for their short attention spans, forget the trick or use their underwater sorcery to blast a hole in the aquarium wall and escape on their obviously existing fins.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun