The volcano “is released from the shackles — the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate,” an official said Lu Huaiqian/Xinhua via Getty Mount Taranaki is officially a person.

A man takes a picture of his wife with Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont, in the background on Sept. 26, 2011, in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Associated Press file photo WELLINGTON, ...

Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred ...

Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont, is more than just a big volcano, it's a culturally significant mountain. Credit: David Rowland/REX/Shutterstock Playboy ...

TARANAKI, New Zealand (WKRC) - A mountain has officially become a person. Mount Taranaki, an 8,261-foot stratovolcano, in New Zealand has been granted all the legal rights and responsibilities as ...

Jan. 31 (UPI) --The New Zealand government granted Mount Taranaki the same legal rights as a person after the country agreed to compensate its indigenous inhabitants for past colonization.

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 ...

Mount Taranaki joins Te Urewera, a vast native forest on the North Island, and the Whanganui River in being recognised as people under New Zealand's laws. A mountain in New Zealand is now legally ...