How a dolphin’s love for his trainer disrupted a NASA-funded experiment

In the mid-1960s, an unconventional NASA-backed scientific project quietly took shape on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Its goal: To explore the possibility of interspecies communication. In particular it focused on teaching dolphins to understand and possibly mimic human language. At the center of this effort was Margaret Howe Lovatt, a curious and determined young woman who would go on to form an extraordinary bond with a dolphin named Peter. And this is their bizzare story!

While the experiment was led by neuroscientist Dr. John Lilly, it was Lovatt who was at the helm of this ambitious project. Interestingly Lovatt, though not formally trained in science, impressed the team with her observational skills and commitment. She became an integral part of the project and proposed a bold idea to accelerate Peter’s learning: live with him full-time.

To support this, the house was partially flooded to create a shared environment for both humans and dolphins. For six days a week, Lovatt and Peter, one of the three dolphins chosen for the experiment, lived together in that space. She taught him English words, corrected his vocalizations, and observed his reactions. The idea behind this was that this constant exposure would simulate the way children learn language through immersion.

As their time together progressed, Peter developed a strong attachment to Lovatt. He also began exhibiting sexual behavior, which disrupted the learning sessions. Rather than interrupt the flow of the experiment or separate him—something that clearly stressed the dolphin—Lovatt opted for a calm, non-shaming solution.

Lovatt has been candid but careful in addressing the issue. “It wasn’t sexual on my part,” she later told the BBC. “Peter was very special to me, but it was not sexual. It was just easier to incorporate that and let it happen—it was very precious, it was very gentle.” However, this relationship was not understood by many. A magazine also published an article about them, which Lovatt ignored at that time but was hurt nonetheless.

Despite the initial promise, the project was eventually discontinued due to funding issues and intervention of others factors. Peter was relocated to a facility in Miami, where he became isolated and depressed. Dolphins are highly social and emotionally sensitive animals, and shortly after the move, Peter reportedly died by refusing to surface for air—an act that is considered by many as suicide.

When Lovatt learnt about this she was heartbroken. For her, Peter was not just a research subject, but had slowly become a friend—intelligent, curious, and emotionally present. The story was later sensationalized in documentaries and media headlines. But they often fail to look or emphasize on the deeper questions the project raised about empathy, communication, and the ethical boundaries of science.