Volunteer naturalist Margaret Howe Lovatt set out on a NASA-funded experiment to prove that dolphins could be taught English, living in close quarters with the marine mammals for almost two months

Volunteer naturalist Margaret Howe Lovatt set out on a NASA-funded experiment to prove that dolphins could be taught English, living in close quarters with the marine mammals for almost two months

Volunteer naturalist Margaret Howe Lovatt set out on a NASA-funded experiment to prove that dolphins could be taught English, living in close quarters with the marine mammals for almost two months. 

By the end of the experiment, Lovatt claimed she had fallen in love:

“That relationship of having to be together sort of turned into really enjoying being together, and wanting to be together, and missing him when he wasn’t there.”

Despite the success of the project, there were some ethical concerns about the way the dolphins were treated.

The dolphins were kept in small tanks, and they were often subjected to stressful experiments. Lovatt herself has expressed regret about the way the project was conducted, saying that she wishes she had done more to protect the dolphins. Nevertheless, the project remains an important milestone in the history of animal communication research.

After the project ended, Lovatt remained in St. Thomas and married the original photographer who worked on the project. Together, they had three daughters and converted the abandoned Dolphin Point laboratory into a home for their family.

Lovatt didn’t speak publicly about the experiment for nearly 50 years, but in recent years, she has become more open about her experiences. She has said that she still thinks about Peter and the other dolphins she worked with, and she hopes that her work will inspire others to continue studying dolphin communication.