A new relationship with animals, nature and each other.

Posts by Michael Mountain

  • Introducing the Whale Sanctuary Project

    This blog is taking a break for the next few months so that I can devote my energies to the Whale Sanctuary Project. Here's why.

  • Is the Sloth Sanctuary a Zoo?

    The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica was the first of its kind for these wonderfully engaging animals, and it was a model for others that followed. But questions have arisen. And…

  • Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary

    Tafi Atome looks like a typical forest in Ghana. The monkeys have been revered in this village for two centuries. But being “sacred” is no guarantee of survival.

  • The Great Irony of Animal “Rights”

    The great irony of the animal rights movement is there is still only one species that has any rights at all: humans. But the Nonhuman Rights Project is setting out to change that.

  • Why Mass Extinction Is Part of Human Nature

    Why would a supposedly “intelligent” species behave in a way that’s bringing about a mass extinction – one that will likely take us down along with so many other animals?

    Air Force Now Investigating Sheep Beating

    Army investigators say they now believe that the men seen in a video cheering as they watch a sheep being beaten to death with a baseball in Afghanistan are airmen, and they have handed the case over to Air Force authorities.

    Killer Whales in Ocean Show

    It’s the real thing – and much better than anything you can see at a marine circus like SeaWorld. These orcas were among dozens seen along the Southern California coast over the last week as they migrate south to Mexico.

    Elephants Mourn Loss of Baby

    Elephants gathered around 3-month-old Lola after she had died from a pulmonary embolism at Germany’s Hellabrunn Zoo.

    Lola had been taken to the hospital, but she died during a cat scan prior to going into surgery.

    Dolphins at War – 40 Years Ago

    After seeing our report on the U.S. Navy once again deploying its dolphin conscripts to the Persian Gulf, a reader wrote in to remind us about a 60 Minutes story from back in 1973, when Morley Safer interviewed various dolphin trainers and military personnel.

    The Cat Burglar

    Who stole Camera 11? The scientists had left 11 cameras in a remote area of Tajikistan, hoping to take photos and video of rare, elusive snow leopards. When they went to retrieve them three months later … only 10 cameras.

    Zoo Break!

    When eight capuchin monkeys decided to make a break for it at the zoo in Parana, Brazil, they used the tools they had at hand to open the door of the cage. (Another example of how the old conventional wisdom that “using tools is a uniquely human ability” is completely wrong.)

    Snowy Owl Magic

    Snowy owls (like Hedwig in the Harry Potter stories) are having a busy winter all across the country. Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Montana, tells the New York Times their numbers are unusually high this year.

    Winter at Zion

    It’s been a dry winter so far here in canyon country, but it snowed a bit a couple of days ago, so I drove over to Zion National Park for a few hours yesterday afternoon.

    Americans Eating Less Meat

    The department of agriculture projects that our meat and poultry consumption will fall again this year, to about 12.2 percent less in 2012 than it was in 2007.