New Year 2023 Update
Greetings Everyone and wishing you all the Happiest and Healthiest of New Years. Thank you so much for the wonderful support you continue to give to us and our work. It makes such a difference, particularly in these challenging times. The Covid-19 pandemic certainly changed everybody’s lives, forcing us to make hard decisions and to pay more attention to our impact on the Planet. Many of you generously supported the Sacred Nature Initiative that we launched in 2021 on the coat tails of a hugely successful KickStarter for the second of our Sacred Nature books. In the process it helped us to take our message to a global audience.
Sacred Nature 2: Reconnecting People to Our Planet (HPH, 2021) builds on the theme of Sacred Nature: Life's Eternal Dance (HPH, 2016) as to how vital a healthy natural environment is, that all life is dependent on Nature. We were thrilled when SN2 won Silver for Photography in the Independent Book Publisher's Awards 2021 to add to the Gold Award for Photography that SN1 achieved in 2016. Our son David and his wife Tori have done a wonderful job in curating the design elements and PR for these projects as part of our Big Cat Family enterprise.
During the peak of the Covid pandemic we stayed at home in Nairobi. This gave us plenty of time to focus on the next phase of our life and career, examining ways that we can give back, particularly in the field of Education and Mentoring. We have always loved connecting with people of all ages through our books and television series, lectures and photo workshops, and have published 12 Children's books while helping to nurture the careers of young people who want to find a way of working in the field of wildlife, photography and conservation. Encouraged by David and Tori, we are now working on a series of eBooks, Tutorials and Podcasts that we believe people will find stimulating and informative. The first series of 5 eBooks explores Wildlife Photography and how to plan a safari to the Mara-Serengeti, a 25,000 sq km wilderness that we consider the most important and photogenic wildlife area on earth.
The eBooks cover the basics as well as how to step up to another level of photographic expertise; and the Tutorials provide a more in-depth look at some of the subject matter covered in the eBooks. It is our hope that having started down this road we will continue to produce new and innovative content indefinitely. That very much suits our ambitions of being able to communicate with you from wherever in the world we settle. The Podcasts are another way we can stay in touch. The first series consists of 10 episodes under the banner of Our Story: Becoming the Big Cat People, an insight into how we got from A to B these past 70 years. In the future we hope to dip into all manner of topics from life lessons, inspirations, heroes, how we see the world - and particularly how all of us can make a difference - as well as exploring wildlife photography and conservation themes.
We hope that many of you will have be able to watch Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride (BBC/PBS), a 90 minute documentary aired last August/September featuring the lions we have watched since 1977. In fact we named the pride the “Marsh Lions” due to their fondness for the area known as Musiara Marsh just to the north of Governor's Camp where we base ourselves on safari. Our book The Marsh Lions (1982), co-authored with Brian Jackman, became a best seller. It was serialised on BBC Radio 4, voiced by Virginia McKenna who played Joy Adamson in the film Born Free (1966) and who was recently honoured as a Dame for her tireless conservation work with the Born Free Foundation. Virginia is a dear friend and supporter of our work who had this to say when we asked if she would write something for our revamped website.
“Some people simply observe the wonders of the natural world. Others, like Jonny and Angie Scott, use their extraordinary talents to observe, record and protect nature. That is why I am such a long-term admirer and supporter of their mission to conserve life on earth for generations to come.”
—Virginia McKenna DBE
The lion documentary reveals how the Marsh Pride became international stars to millions of viewers of the landmark television series Big Cat Diary (later Big Cat Week, and finally Big Cat Live) that ran for 12 years from 1996 to 2008. And how in December 2015 eight members of the pride were poisoned by Maasai herdsmen after they killed cattle driven into the Reserve illegally at night. Three of the lions died as a result of the poisoning: Bibi (17 years of age), Sienna (10) and Alan (1.5 years). News of the incident flashed around the world as people responded with feelings of shock and dismay to the demise of the best known and much loved pride of lions.
These issues are not confined to the Marsh Pride. The documentary highlights the threat now faced by lions wherever they occur in Africa due to loss of their historical range (a 95% decline) - and their natural prey - that increasingly brings them into conflict with humans and their livestock. With the help of other stakeholders we are currently seeking ways to help the newly elected Narok County administration find solutions to the illegal encroachment of livestock into the Reserve, and the detrimental impact that the oversupply of camps and lodges is having.
With so many safari vehicles roaming the Maasai Mara, often with total disregard for the rules and regulations, the pressure on charismatic species like lions, leopards and cheetahs is almost overwhelming at times. Research conducted by the Mara Predator Conservation Program reveals that cheetah mothers raise fewer cubs in areas with the highest density of tourist vehicles. Many of you may have seen the video that went viral on Facebook in October 2022 of two cheetahs chasing a wildebeest calf. It prompted an in depth article published in the New York Times on 4 January written by Maria Cramer and Costas Christ under the banner headline: The Cheetahs Made a Kill. Then the Safari Trucks Swarmed In. A video showing dozens of vehicles moving in on a pair of big cats in a Kenyan game reserve highlights how “aggressive tourism” can put endangered animals at even greater risk. Take a look online if you haven't read the article.
We hope to meet with a small group of stakeholders hosted by the British High Commission to hear the Governor’s plans for the future and how we might assist in creating solutions to the many complex issues facing the Maasai Mara.
Finally we are delighted to share with you news of an Exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi scheduled to open in early October 2023. The Sacred Nature Initiative are partnering with the National Museum and the famed paleoartist Dr Mauricio Anton to create a exhibition entitled Journey Through Time. It will feature 40 of Mauricio's artworks - and 40 of our wildlife Prints focusing on the Mara-Serengeti - as a way of celebrating the past and present, illustrating where we come from and where we are headed. The Global Climate Crisis will be part of the narrative accompanying the Exhibition. Journey Through Time will remain at the Museum for 12 months before travelling to other venues in Kenya - and East Africa.
