The Big Cat People Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is a continuation of our guest interview series, 'In Conversation with The Big Cat People'. In this series, Jonathan and Angie sit down with incredibly talented photographers to discuss the topic of 'Becoming a Photographer'. Today's guest is Nick Brandt, an English photographer focused on the vanishing natural world due to environmental destruction, climate change, and human actions.

He directed award-winning music videos like Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" before falling in love with East Africa during a shoot in Tanzania. Frustrated with not capturing his feelings for animals, he embarked on his On This Earth Trilogy, aiming to depict animals' essence. Brandt founded the Big Life Foundation in response to escalating poaching in Africa, protecting wildlife and ecosystems. His projects like "Inherit the Dust" and "This Empty World" depict the impact of human development on animals and humans. His work captures the critical moment of the Anthropocene, reflecting on climate change's consequences. Brandt's recent series in Fiji addresses climate change without featuring animals.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Connect with Nick Brandt:

@nickbrandt

nickbrandt.com

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is a continuation of our guest interview series, 'In Conversation with The Big Cat People'. In this series, Jonathan and Angie sit down with incredibly talented photographers to discuss the topic of 'Becoming a Photographer'. Today's guest is Shem Compion, an African-born adventurer, nature photographer, author, and innovative photography hide builder.

Co-founder of C4 Photo Safaris, his work, renowned globally, includes contributions to the BBC's Planet Earth series. Pioneering photography hides, such as Africa's first underground hide, Shem offers unique perspectives. An educator and author, he's published seven titles, including "A Landscape of Insects." Shem's boundless exploration recently took him along Ethiopia's Omo River, consistently producing creative photographic work. As a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in London, Shem Compion remains a dynamic force in wildlife photography.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Connect with Shem Compion:

⁠@shemimages

shemimages.com

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is called '2005: Honey and Toto', and it is the seventh episode in our ten part series named Big Cat Diary Uncut. Join us in this episode as we go back in time to the year 2005. One of the things that defined Big Cat was that our Producers and Executives at the BBC Natural History Unit were always looking for innovations, whether discussing programme style and structure with their counterparts in the Entertainment division at the BBC and Animal Planet, or looking for other ways to bring great production values to the series. We benefit from collaborating with the Planet Earth team during their visit to the Maasai Mara to film some helicopter aerials to give a heightened sense of scale to the landscape and our place in it, just a tiny vehicle marooned in the enormity of the savanna.

However, this series would not linger on in the audience's memories for years to come due to the stunning visuals. It would forever be remembered for a tiny cheetah cub that Jonathan names Toto - meaning “child" or “little one” in Swahili. The three-month-old male cub is the only survivor of Honey’s third litter. Jonathan sets the reality of the scene for viewers when he says, “I will be amazed if Toto survives.” The series ends on a sorrowful note. After the crew had returned to the UK, Simon and his wife Marguerite stayed on to film cheetahs for Planet Earth and discovered Honey alone a few days later. I recorded a last line of commentary while back at the Natural History Unit in Bristol, and remember being conflicted by the need to not simply speak my truth rather than, it seemed to me, struggle to avoid acknowledging the inevitable. Toto had died, and while we could not be certain what the circumstances had been, most likely it would have been lions or hyenas that killed him.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is called '2004: The Ridge Pride – Sala and Cheza & Bella and Chui', and it is the sixth episode in our ten part series named Big Cat Diary Uncut. Join us in this episode as we go back in time to the year 2004. Big Cat Week's first series was a hit, captivating audiences with its week-long format. Jonathan questions his performance, while reuniting with the amazing car-climbing cheetah, Kike. He focuses on her independent youngsters, while Saba's leopard team discovers exciting developments. Simon's adventures with the Ridge Pride's cubs provide mischievousness and danger. Kike's offspring showcase survival skills, and we delve into the world of big cat spotting. With golden moments and hopeful futures, Big Cat Week keeps us hooked.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is called '2003: Kike's Story and Bella the Leopard', and it is the fifth episode in our ten part series named Big Cat Diary Uncut. Join us in this episode as we tell the story behind the first series of Big Cat Week, broadcast in 2003 on BBC1/Animal Planet. One of the iconic stars was Kike the cheetah, who became famous for leaping up on to the roof of safari vehicles in the Maasai Mara NR where she grew up. Some people think the young female was Amber's daughter who featured prominently in Big Cat Diary in 1998. She was also known as Queen, the orphan cheetah female - one of a litter of five - whose mother was killed by a predator in 1988. She and her siblings were returned to the wild, and associated vehicles with food supplied to them by rangers prior to becoming independent. Queen loved to leap up on to the bonnet of a safari vehicle to check for prey or danger from her aerial perch, just as she would when there was a termite mound to climb up on to. Kike took this habit to a whole knew level, not only climbing on to the roof of a vehicle, but in the case of Jonathan's Toyota Land Cruiser sitting on the open lid of his roof hatch and at times peeing and pooing onto him and his precious camera gear! There are still times when Jonathan is stopped in the street to confirm "Aren't you the bloke that the cheetah crapped on?" .

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is called '2002: Cubs Galore – Marsh Pride, Honey and Zawadi', and it is the fourth episode in our ten part series named Big Cat Diary Uncut. Join us in this episode as we travel back in time. In 2002, each presenter in Big Cat Diary was accompanied by a DV Director with a hand-held camera to record their every move and dialogue for a more intimate and immediate viewing experience. Saba Douglas-Hamilton joined as a new presenter to narrate the Marsh Pride story, which featured young cubs from first-time mothers Mama Lugga and White Eye. The lionesses adopted a crèche system to raise all 10 cubs communally. Solo, a charismatic lion cub, survived, and Zawadi had a new litter of three cubs at Leopard Gorge. The series delivered high octane action and intense emotions.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We've have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is named '2000: The Rise and Fall of Scar & the Story of Solo the Lion Cub', and it is the third episode in our ten part series named 'Big Cat Diary Uncut'. Join us in this episode as we follow the Big Cat Diary team and their experiences during the momentous times in 2000. The Marsh Pride is faced with challenges as Scar battles to remain with the pride after the death of his companion, Scruffy. A severe drought causes a large influx of wildebeest and zebra in the area while two of the core females are killed by Maasai herdsmen. Only three adult lionesses remain, along with eight subadults. Topi Plains pride males Blondie and Simba invade the Marsh Pride's territory, and a new territorial male, Droopy Jaw, causes trouble for Zawadi and Safi. The season ends on a heart-wrenching note as Solo, a three-month-old lion cub, goes missing, and his mother and the Big Cat Diary team search for him. Tune in to hear all about these gripping events.

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We've have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is named '1998: Amber the Cheetah and the Battle at Bila Shaka, and it is the second episode in our ten part series named 'Big Cat Diary Uncut'. The second series of Big Cat Diary videoed in 1998 was one to remember, packed with action from all three big cats. Jonathan bears witness to a battle royal at Bila Shaka, the traditional birthplace of the Marsh Pride, as a herd of buffalo launch a deadly attack on the pride and its 11 tiny cubs. We meet the new pride males Scruffy and Scar who are instantly recognisable in looks and character. Simon catches up with the Mara's legendary cheetah known to the safari guides as Queen, who he renames Amber. Queen earned her name from her habit of jumping up and sitting on the bonnet of safari vehicles in regal style.

We learn about her unusual start in life that prompted her car climbing habit. Her three subadult offspring - 2 males and a female - provide lots of action for the cheetah team, while our leopards Half-Tail and her year-and-a-half-old daughter Zawadi (now independent) generate plenty of high octane moments to keep Jonathan and our audience enthralled. Both Amber and Half-Tail are now 11 years old - old by big cat standards - and we can never be certain if or when we will see them again. As if to underline that point, Half-Tail comes close to losing her life when bushwhacked by two lionesses, while Zawadi demonstrates her hunting skills right in front of Jonathan's vehicle, all captured to perfection by cameraman Richard North. Roll on 2000!

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We've have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is named '1996: A Leopard Called Half-Tail', and it's the first episode in our ten part series named 'Big Cat Diary Uncut'. In 1996 the BBC launches its landmark wildlife series Big Cat Diary. Pioneered by Keith Scholey of the BBC Natural History Unit, and building on the success of Africa Watch (1989) and the increasing popularity of reality shows, Big Cat Diary is destined to become a television phenomenon - the original big cat soap opera. Key to the popularity of the first series is a leopard called Half-Tail and her 7 month-old daughter Zawadi (known to the audience as Shadow). Jonathan and Angela had followed Half Tail since 1990, naming the two-year-old leopard the Paradise Female - before she lost her tail. The Marsh Pride, who Jonathan had followed since 1977 and was key to the success of Africa Watch, were in disarray at the start of filming having suffered the loss of their pride males. Fortunately the team are able to pick up the story of the Big Pride who occupy a territory to the north of the Reserve and number 27 lions - 4 adult males, 7 adult females, and 16 cubs.

While Jonathan concentrates on the leopards, Simon follows two families of cheetahs, sharing the lion story with Jonathan. There are plenty of the kinds of moments of drama and jeopardy that reality shows rely on, including when Kidogo the cheetah's female cub becomes trapped by the forepaw while scrambling around in an acacia bush. Simon poses the question: "Should the team intervene or let nature take its course?" Meanwhile, the night crew, filming with infrared cameras, capture amazing scenes with Half-Tail and Zawadi at play after dark, and show how much the Big Pride benefit from their acute nocturnal vision while stalking prey in the open. Jonathan and Angela describe what a unique experience it is to spend quality time with Half-Tail the leopard who they have followed all her adult life. She proves to be a once-in-a-lifetime animal character who captures the hearts of the millions of viewers who tune in to the show."

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com.

Welcome to The Big Cat People podcast! We're Jonathan and Angela Scott, award-winning wildlife photographers, authors and conservationists. We've have made our name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Today's episode is the final episode of our ten part series named 'Our Story: Becoming the Big Cat People'.

This episode is named 'The Nature of Life.' Big Cat Diary (1996-2008) was to become a worldwide success watched by millions of viewers, who to this day still ask when it is coming back. DVD's of the series soon sold out, and people are still watching repeats of the more than 70 episodes 25 years later. The BBC went  in search of more animal Diaries: Elephant Diaries, Big Bear Diary, Chimpanzee Diaries, and Orang Utan Diaries,. But none would rival Big Cat Diary with its three strong animal characters - the charismatic lions, leopard and cheetahs. In 2009 Jonathan narrates The Secret Leopard for BBC2. The following year he presents the 2 part BBC2 series The Truth About Lions with Professor Craig Packer of the Serengeti Lion Project. Angela leads Jonathan on a spiritual journey, and encourages him to explore the wonders of the Blue Planet. They visit the Galapagos Islands, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the Maldives and take a yacht charter to the southern archipelago off Myanmar. In the process Jonthan and Angela are reminded of the destructive impact of our species on the Planet.

In 2003, the same year that Kike the cheetah jumps on the roof of his vehicle and poops and pees through the roof hatch, Jonathan is diagnosed with cancer of the bladder and undergoes surgery that is successful. 5 years later Jonathan and Angela discover the reason for the bewildering array of symptoms that Angela has suffered from since 1995 - Lupus, an incurable auto-immune disease with debilitating episodes of fatigue and flares. Worse is to follow when in 2012 a CatScan shows that Angela has a cranial aneurism requiring surgery. The operation is successful and the experience reaffirms the couple's love for each other and for life. They founded the Sacred Nature Initiative in 2021 and are determined to continue their mission to help reconnect people to Nature. 

This podcast series is a continuing effort to educate and inspire our audience. If you'd like to learn more about us, or to check out our latest collection of educational ebooks, please visit our website: www.bigcatpeople.com