EPISODE 10: Becoming the Big Cat People – 'The Nature of Life'

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