In British Columbia, Canada, an elusive animal has been adapting to co-exist with the world's largest remaining inland temperate rainforest since the last ice age. They're the gentle and beautiful mountain caribou, and our guest this week is perhaps their loudest defender.

David Moskowitz, renowned nature photographer, wildlife biologist and tracker, introduces us to the highly endangered mountain caribou, whose herds have plummeted to just 1,100 individuals due to the ongoing logging of their old-growth home. He helps us understand how a combination of blockades, education, Tribal rights and community forests could bring these caribou them back from the brink.

David is based in the North Cascades of Washington State, in the traditional territory of the Methow people. His photography has appeared in numerous outlets, including The New York Times, NBC, Outside Magazine, Science Magazine, Natural History Magazine, High Country News and more.

He is the author and photographer of three books: Caribou Rainforest, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest and Wolves in the Land of Salmon. He is also co-author and photographer of Peterson’s Field Guide to North American Bird Nests.

David's next project will document the entire Columbia River Basin of North America. This massive photographic undertaking will support multiple environmental campaigns and become a book and interactive display.

Calls to Action

• Take online actions and/or make a donation to save the inland temperate rainforest of British Columbia, home to the last herds of mountain caribou.
• Watch David's breathtaking film, Last Stand: The Vanishing Caribou Rainforest.
• Purchase your own copy of David's acclaimed coffee table book, Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope (Braided River, 2018).

Credits

Sentient Planet is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon. Thank you!

David's photo: Courtesy of Sarah Rice.

Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley.

Interstitial music: "The Edge of Forever" by Stellardrone.