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?

    Is the Stock Market a Global Ponzi Scheme?
    Sacred Activism in the Service of Animals
    Of Humans and Persons

    Who’s Killing the Dolphins?

    At least six dolphins have been brutally murdered along the Gulf Coast in recent months – shot, stabbed, body parts hacked off. Local authorities are encouraging…

    Penguins in Love

    Humans, we’ve been learning, sometimes have difficulty remembering their vows, especially when one of them is on a tour of duty. But penguins are naturally faithful to each other. And one particular pair of Magellanic penguins turns out to be among the most faithful of couples.

    Dolphin Welfare vs. Dolphin Rights

    Is it OK to keep dolphins (including belugas and killer whales) in captivity as long as you follow certain approved standards of care from the zoo or research industries? Or do dolphins have the inherent right not to be held captive by humans in the first place?

    It’s a question that hovered in the background of last weekend’s conference of the American Cetacean Society in San Diego. And at one session, it exploded to the surface.

    If the End Comes . . .

    With just over a month until the much ballyhooed end of the Mayan calendar, are you prepared for planetary disaster? As a promo for the second season of its reality show “Doomsday Preppers”, National Geographic TV says that nine out of ten people recently surveyed expect a world disaster within the next 25 years. But most of us say we’re not prepared for it.

    Could Your Sponge Eat You?

    Well, only in the movies, perhaps. But here’s a real-life carnivorous sponge who lives two miles down in Monterey Bay, captures crustaceans with her barbed hooks,…

    Mother Nature’s Extra Vote

    Last week, Mother Nature cast an early vote, with Hurricane Sandy reminding us all that there’s just one overarching priority for the next administration and the next Congress. This week another storm is brewing.

    Last night, when President Obama spoke to his supporters and to the nation, he laid out his priorities for the next four years: