New Zealand's Mount Taranaki is now legally a person

Mount Taranaki also known by its Māori name Taranaki Maunga, is a towering 8,261-foot stratovolcano that was recognized as a legal person in New Zealand on Thursday.

First a sacred forest, then a river, and now a mountain.

Mount Taranaki, a towering 8,261-foot stratovolcano popular among skiers and snowboarders, was recognized as a legal person in New Zealand on Thursday.

Known by its Māori name Taranaki Maunga, the mountain is the latest natural feature in the country to be granted the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person.

The government has effectively ceased ownership of the mountain, which the indigenous Māori people consider among their ancestors.

Formerly known as Mount Egmont, Mount Taranaki's legal name is Te Kāhui Tupua.Dita Alangkara / AP fileIts legal name is Te Kāhui Tupua, and is viewed by the law as “a living and indivisible whole.” It includes Taranaki and its surrounding peaks and land, “incorporating all their physical and metaphysical elements.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-mount-taranaki-legal-person-rcna190124

---