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| Dr John Lilly, a neurologist who worked with dolphins between 1955 and 1968 |
Do Dolphins Commit Suicide?
Over the years, the idea that dolphins can consciously take their own lives has appeared in books, documentaries, and online discussions. It’s a claim that continues to provoke strong emotional responses and is often used to criticise dolphin care in captivity. But what does the scientific and historical evidence actually show? A closer look at the people and events behind this belief reveals a more complex — and much less dramatic — reality.
Ric O’Barry and the “Flipper” Myth
Perhaps the most popular source stems from animal-rights activist and former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry (formerly O’Feldman), who worked on the 1960s TV series Flipper. In his 1989 book Behind the Dolphin Smile, he claimed that Kathy, one of the dolphins who played Flipper, “committed suicide” in his arms. O’Barry maintained that because dolphins “are not automatic air breathers,” she chose to stop breathing. However, this position has since been scientifically disproved, as noted by veterinarian Michael T. Walsh (see comments below).
Dr John Lilly and the Theory of Voluntary Breathing
Prior to this, scientist Dr John Lilly, a neurologist who worked with dolphins between 1955 and 1968, had made a similar claim. Although Lilly’s early research led to several interesting discoveries, he became a controversial figure due to his speculative views on dolphin intelligence and his blending of science with imaginative conjecture. He also took a break from dolphin studies to explore human consciousness using isolation tanks, during which he experimented with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD.
During his early dolphin research, Lilly discovered that general anaesthesia could be fatal to dolphins unless their breathing was supported by artificial means. He therefore concluded that dolphins were voluntary breathers.
From this, he speculated that if dolphins had to “think to breathe”, they might be capable of suicide by choosing to stop. In his 1979 book Communication Between Man and Dolphin, he wrote:
“If, in an oceanarium, any dolphin/porpoise/whale is kept in isolation in solitude... social deprivation may be so severe that the cetacean commits suicide by voluntarily ceasing either breathing and/or eating.”
Lilly claimed that several dolphins at his Virgin Islands research facility, the Communication Research Institute, had died in this way. However, records from that period, including his earlier book Man and Dolphin, suggest otherwise.
His first two resident animals, Lizzie and Baby, did not die by suicide. Lizzie died three weeks after arriving on the island from a brain haemorrhage caused by an accident prior to transport, and she also showed signs of lung infection. Baby’s post-mortem revealed chronic lung infection as well. Lilly noted that both animals had “bad breath” and nasal discharge on arrival from Florida.
Further to this, dolphins he worked with during the 1980s also did not die through self-asphyxiation. In fact, two animals, Rosie and Jim, were later released back into the wild.
Scientific Reassessment
Published research has since cast doubt on Lilly’s belief in voluntary breathing among cetaceans. At the 1991 Conference of the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine, veterinarian Michael T. Walsh presented a paper entitled Cetacean Facts and Fallacies. Regarding voluntary breathing, he stated:
“There is no physical or scientific evidence to verify this supposition. It appears to be based partially on early investigations with anaesthetic agents and popular myths. Current clinical investigations into the use of sedatives and anaesthetics have shown that these individuals are involuntary breathers.”
Interestingly, Lilly’s views on oceanaria and dolphins in captivity were not as negative as animal-rights groups often suggest. In Communication Between Man and Dolphin, he wrote:
“Eventually the oceanaria may be closed by conservation groups... I hope not.”
In an appendix to the same book, outlining his 1979 plans to resume dolphin research, Lilly explained why he never publicly condemned dolphinariums:
“The oceanaria have done a very great service for the dolphins and killer whales in acquainting literally hundreds of thousands of humans with their existence and with their capabilities in a circus way. The dolphins and whales are indebted to the oceanaria for educating the human species.”
Jacques Cousteau and the Common Dolphin
Another possible origin for the idea of “dolphin suicide” comes from diver and broadcaster Jacques Cousteau’s experience with captive dolphins while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, later published as The Undersea Discoveries of Jacques Cousteau: Dolphins (1975).
The animals used in Cousteau’s early research were common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), a species known for its nervous disposition and difficulty adapting to captivity. In fact, only one institution—the now-closed Marineland in Napier, New Zealand—was successful in maintaining common dolphins for extended periods. Its last dolphin, caught in 1974, lived until September 2008.
Cousteau later admitted that their early attempts to keep dolphins were “clumsy” due to limited knowledge of marine mammal care. He wrote in Dolphins (1975):
“The species of dolphin that is usually seen giving performances in American marinelands is Tursiops truncatus, or bottlenose dolphin. This species adapts fairly well to captivity and has a robust constitution. It is also found in the Mediterranean, but there the most numerous species is Delphinus delphis, or common dolphin, which is smaller and lighter than the bottlenose dolphin. It is also considered more delicate than the latter, as we were soon to discover.”
In October 1957, Cousteau’s team captured a female common dolphin named Kiki for research at his Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Initially housed in a tank of unspecified size, she was later moved to a hotel swimming pool and joined by a male, Dufduf, who died in March 1958 after swallowing pieces of wood and cloth.
Kiki was returned to the museum two weeks after Dufduf’s death and was joined by a newly captured pregnant female. However, this second dolphin panicked, crashed into the tank wall, and died from head injuries after escaping a handler’s grasp during introduction.
Lessons from Early Captivity
The importance of careful handling during capture and transfer was later highlighted by Professor Sam Ridgway, research veterinarian for the US Navy, in Mammals of the Sea: Biology and Medicine (1972):
“Occasionally, a new cetacean will have difficulty orienting itself and swimming when placed in the water... Sometimes human assistance is needed to keep the porpoise from running into the walls of the tank and to start swimming on its own... Attendants should position themselves around the edge of the tank. If it appears that the animal is going to strike the wall, the attendant should turn it...”
By choosing to capture an open-ocean species with a highly nervous temperament, and by housing it without sufficient acclimatisation or support, Cousteau’s team inadvertently caused avoidable stress and injury. It is clear that lack of experience, rather than self-destructive intent, was responsible for the animals’ deaths.
Conclusion
The notion that dolphins can consciously choose to end their lives is largely a myth built from misinterpretations of early research, anecdotal accounts, and a limited understanding of dolphin physiology. While dolphins are intelligent and socially complex animals, the evidence does not support the claim that they can deliberately stop breathing to die. What these early cases highlight instead is how far marine mammal science and husbandry have advanced since those formative decades — and how important it remains to distinguish empathy from evidence when discussing the lives of these remarkable animals.
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