'Big Cats' highlights the remarkable power of photojournalism

Jeff Sikich, the biologist for the National Park Service in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, thought that Steve Winter "was crazy" for wanting to capture a photograph of a mountain lion in front of the Hollywood sign.

"He looked at me like I was crazy because he said, 'There are no mountain lions in Griffith Park.' But I knew in the past that there had been," Winter says.

It took him 15 months, but Winter managed to do it. He captured the famous mountain lion, named P-22 by scientists, sauntering down a hill at night wearing his tracking collar, with the Hollywood sign shimmering in the background. This helped spark a conservation movement in L.A. and eventually inspired funding for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over U.S. Route 101, which will be the world's largest wildlife crossing when it opens on Dec. 2.

Winter and Mongabay contributing editor Sharon Guynup join the Mongabay Newscast this week to detail this story and others that are featured in her and Winter's upcoming book of impactful photojournalism, Big Cats from Nat Geo Books. Each of the nine stories in this book was selected specifically for the conservation outcomes these stories helped inspire.

"We really wanted to emphasize that storytelling and photography can change the world. And beyond that, we all can have impact, so we all need to contribute our skills, whatever they are," Guynup says.

After reading all 25,000 words, this book stands out to me as more than a collection of top-tier wildlife photography. These are stories of honest hope for big cats on the brink. The impacts tell a larger story to me.

People do care, and will take action to protect charismatic species and the ecosystems that depend on them when they're given the right information. The book releases worldwide on Oct. 6. You can find it here.

Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast here.

Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Cover image: This photo of P-22 the mountain lion took Steve Winter 15 months to shoot. After its publication, the cat became a worldwide icon. Image courtesy of Steve Winter.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Stories with impact

(10:36) A mountain lion in Hollywood

(19:47) On top of the world with snow leopards

(28:57) Shutting down the Thai Tiger Temple

(34:28) Asiatic lions back from the brink

(41:19) Towards a future of co-existence