A woman, who has been an animal lover since her childhood, revealed a peculiar relationship with a dolphin in an interview about taking part in a NASA-funded experiment in the 1960s which saw her live with a dolphin called Peter in a flooded house.
Margaret Howe Lovatt, was first drawn to animal communication as a child when she read a book about a talking cat.
She said: “It was a story about a cat who could talk and understand humans and it just stuck with me that maybe there is this possibility,”. This sparked Margret’s lifelong dream of communicating with animals, a dream that she never outgrew.
In 1963, during Christmas on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, Margaret’s chance to live her dream arrived. She learnt about a secret lab on the island where dolphins were being studied. Intrigued, at just 20 years old, Margaret decided to visit the place. That’s where she met Gregory Bateson, the lab director.
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Gregory, impressed by Margaret’s passion and resolve to help, allowed her to study and observe the dolphins. Regardless of her limited formal scientific education, Margaret’s knack for understanding animal behaviours ensured her place in the research project. She clearly remembers her first impression of the three dolphins she got to observe.
In her own words, “Peter, Pamela and Sissy. Sissy was the biggest. Pushy, loud, she sort of ran the show.” And “Pamela was very shy and fearful. And Peter was a young guy. He was sexually coming of age and a bit naughty.”
The project was funded by NASA and aimed to teach dolphins English or see if it was possible. The scientists wanted a closer look at the dolphins and decided to turn an ordinary house into a dolphin home by filling it with knee-deep water. This allowed the team to live with the animals and watch them all the time.
Margaret became closer to the dolphins the more she spent time with them, especially with a young male named Peter. Margaret said: “Peter liked to be… with me. He would rub himself on my knee, my foot or my hand and I allowed that.”
Margaret added: “I wasn’t uncomfortable – as long as it wasn’t too rough. In the beginning, I would put him on the elevator and say, ‘You go play with the girls for a day.'”
“It was just easier to incorporate that and let it happen, it was very precious and very gentle, Peter was right there, he knew that I was right there.”
She said this became part of her study to teach Peter English. She explained: “It was sexual on his part – it was not sexual on mine, sensuous perhaps.”
“It would just become part of what was going on like an itch, just get rid of that we’ll scratch and we would be done and move on. I was there to get to know Peter, that was part of Peter.”
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When they ran out of money, Peter had to move 1,000 miles away to a lab in Florida. Sadly, Peter passed away soon after, which some say was because he missed Margaret so much.
Margaret recalled getting the call from John Lilly, who told her: “I got that phone call from John Lilly. John called me himself to tell me. He said Peter had committed suicide.”
The vet, Andy Williamson, believed Peter died of a broken heart, wondering if Peter missed Margaret too much when she left.
Ric O’Barry, from The Dolphin Project, supported the idea that Peter’s death was a “suicide.” He explained: “Dolphins are not automatic air-breathers like we are. Every breath is a conscious effort.” He added, “If life becomes too unbearable, the dolphins just take a breath and they sink to the bottom. They don’t take the next breath.”
The lab was set up by American scientist, Dr. John Lilly. He had been studying sea creatures with big brains for years. His experiment on a Caribbean island aimed to teach dolphins to make human-like sounds through their blow holes. This would help them talk to humans.
Dr Lilly got money from NASA for his project. He thought it could help us understand other smart beings who communicate differently.
However, things didn’t go as expected. There were not only rumours about Margaret’s strange relationship with Peter the dolphin, but also whispers that the dolphins were mistreated when given LSD.
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