Our Story

Jonathan and Angela are award-winning wildlife photographers and authors who have made their name documenting the lives of lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, recording every aspect of their existence in their drawings, photographs and wildlife television programs.

Jonathan and Angela Scott, experts of wildlife photography, stand in the savannah in the Masai Mara in Kenya.

They are the only couple to have won the Overall Award in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition as individuals. Jonathan and Angela have written and illustrated 34 books including their award winning children’s titles for Collins Big Cat. Their latest books are The Big Cat Man: An Autobiography (Bradt) and Sacred Nature: Life’s Eternal Dance (HPH) that won the Gold Award for Photography in the prestigious Independent Publishers Book Awards, 2017.

Angela Scott, winner of the wildlife photographer of the year award, taking nature photographs in Africa. — Angela

Angela was born in Alexandria, Egypt and from the age of four lived in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The great Serengeti National Park was the scene of happy days on safari with her family, stimulating her lifelong love affair with photography.

The Scott’s were married in the Maasai Mara in 1992, and from 1996 to 2008 worked on the hugely popular TV series Big Cat Diary, with Jonathan as co-presenter and Angela as Production Stills Photographer and game spotter. They split their time between their beautiful home in the leafy suburb of Langata in Nairobi overlooking the Ngong Hills and a stone cottage at Governor’s Camp in the Mara. Aside from East Africa, the Scott’s travel widely including sixteen expeditions to the frozen wastes of Antarctica, a land beyond reality. They are Patrons and Ambassadors for a number of Conservation organizations including the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, the Kenya Wildlife Trust’s Mara Cheetah and Lion Projects, Rhino Ark, Colobus Conservation, the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Bishop Simeon Trust.

Jonathan Scott, winner of the wildlife photographer of the year award, filming Big Cat Diary with a cheetah in Kenya. — Jonathan

Jonathan first set eyes on the Mara-Serengeti while traveling overland through Africa in 1974. This was the savanna Africa depicted in Born Free and Serengeti Shall Not Die, films and books that he had marveled at as a child growing up in England. In 1977 he returned overland from Botswana to live permanently in the Maasai Mara for the next fifteen years, dedicating his life to documenting the lives of its wild inhabitants.

Meet the rest of the team

The Big Cat People extends beyond Jonathan & Angela. For the last few years their son and daughter-in-law have taken on key roles in the family brand. Together they add to the entire Big Cat Family.

Marketing Director
Tori’s experience spans both Executive Sales and now Brand Marketing. She leads all Marketing for The Big Cat People, including social media and advertising. In addition, she also leads Partnerships and Growth Strategy.

Creative Director
David has spent the last 20 years in Graphic and Brand Design. He leads all Creative aspects of The Big Cat People, overseeing all Brand Communication and Design.