The Perfect Cat – on Nat Geo Wild
July 13, 2012 by MichaelMountain
“The Unlikely Leopard” premieres on Sunday July 15th on Nat Geo WILD You don’t realize until the very end of this gorgeous TV movie that filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert have not only captured your heart but also drawn you into their work to save what they call “the perfect cat.” Of course, all cats [...]
Do All Bugs Go to Heaven?
June 4, 2012 by Michael Mountain
If dogs and cats can go to Heaven, why not chimpanzees, horses, birds, or even mosquitoes and worms? We decided to study what people think about whether all dogs—or for that matter, their fleas—go to Heaven.
Whale Wars Takes On the Not-So-Great Danes
April 26, 2012 by Michael Mountain
If you think the dolphin massacre at Taiji is a uniquely Japanese horror, welcome to the Faroe Islands of northern Europe. These picturesque Danish islands, inhabited by about 50,000 people who are descended from the Vikings, are the backdrop to what’s known as “The Grind” – Faroese for “whale drive”. Every summer, the people herd [...]
Arsenic and Old Feathers
April 5, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Today, yet another food revelation: Chickens on factory farms are routinely fed acetaminophen (as in Tylenol), along with the same antihistamine you find in Benadryl, the antidepressant that’s featured in Prozac, plus various antimicrobials, and, yes, arsenic.
Artist’s 15 Minutes of Shame
March 15, 2012 by MichaelMountain
This past month the media reported that Ms. Amber Hansen’s art project, The Story of Chickens: A Revolution, was in violation of Lawrence, Kansas ordinances that protect animals from being harmed or killed within city limits.
Exploring America the Wild
March 8, 2012 by Michael Mountain
America the Wild with Casey Anderson premieres on NatGeo Wild at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday March 11th, then moves to Mondays at 9 p.m. The naturalist treks across North America, from Alaska to the Grand Canyon and the Southwestern deserts.
Wolfgang Puck Says No to Foie Gras
March 5, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Renowned California chef Wolfgang Puck has written a letter urging fellow restaurateurs to embrace the state’s upcoming ban on foie gras. The bill, which was signed in 2004, gave restaurants eight years to come up with a humane alternative to the way the “delicacy” is produced.
The Leaf Chaser
February 28, 2012 by MichaelMountain
Teddy Bear is so focused on his leaves he is oblivious of other dogs, people, garbage or cars. Often, he chases the leaves to the point of exhaustion or until I pick him up and carry him off. He is The Leaf Chaser.
Art by Other Animals
February 1, 2012 by Michael Mountain
In the late 1950s, the surrealism painter Salvador Dali saw one of the canvases by Congo, a chimpanzee, whose artworks had been shown on the British TV show Zoo Time.
Healing Arts We Can Learn from Animals
February 1, 2012 by MichaelMountain
Modern treatments for acute illnesses, he told me, boil down to a handful of “pillars of medicine.” But the interesting twist was that these pillars have also evolved in other species. His enthusiasm for his new theory was infectious, and I caught the bug.
