Washington, D.C., November 2, 2023 — Wildlife photographer Steve Winter and journalist Sharon Guynup traveled to 32 U.S. states on a two-year investigation documenting the hazards captive tigers face within the tourism business. The ensuing 30-page National Geographic journal function was shared with members of Congress and finally led to the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in December, 2022. To acknowledge the impression of their work, National Geographic Explorers Winter and Guynup will obtain the Society’s 2024 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling.
The award –– named for the author and photographer Eliza Scidmore, the primary girl elected to the Society’s Board of Trustees in 1892 –– acknowledges people who use immersive storytelling to make advanced concepts, points and knowledge related and accessible.
“Storytelling is fundamental to our mission work at the Society because it raises awareness of critical issues, provides context, sparks dialogue, fosters empathy and moves people to act,” stated Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society. “Sharon and Steve’s compelling, evidence-based storytelling did just that. In illuminating the plight of tigers, they touched the hearts and minds of countless people — including lawmakers. We are proud to recognize these storytellers with this prestigious award.”
Raised in rural Indiana, Winter discovered his ardour for images after his father gifted him a digicam for his seventh birthday. Since 1991, Winter has coated many topics for National Geographic journal, together with Russia’s large Kamchatka bears, tigers in Myanmar’s Hukawng Valley and life alongside Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River. His photographs of tigers, snow leopards and jaguars amongst others have knowledgeable conservation interventions all over the world, and received accolades within the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and Photojournalist of the Year and earned high honors for Nature Story within the World Press Photo competitors.
“In producing this story, I wanted to document the cruel circumstances of tigers living in captivity in the U.S. — driven by the cub petting industry — and I wanted to illustrate the care these cats receive in true sanctuaries,” stated Winter. “With my work, I want to share the beauty, secret behaviors, and the threats that face big cats, providing a behind-the-lens look into their lives as well as the people who live with them and help to protect them. My ultimate goal is to help save these magnificent animals and the ecosystems they inhabit.”
Guynup has coated wildlife, local weather change, environmental well being and air pollution amongst different points for over 20 years. Some of her recent work has delved into poaching and wildlife crime — the profitable, world, cartel-driven unlawful wildlife commerce. Throughout her profession, Guynup has mixed her writing and visible abilities to provide function tales and multimedia items for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post and different publications. She serves as a worldwide fellow with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program to talk publicly on these points. Guynup co-founded the nonprofit Big Cat Voices with Winter, her companion in life and work, to give attention to media and movie initiatives that spark change.
“It is a great honor to receive this award, especially because Eliza pioneered the way for so many women in journalism,” stated Guynup. “On our U.S. tiger story, we fought hard to document the widespread animal abuse of the lucrative cub petting business and I was overjoyed when the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed last December. Although great strides are needed to prevent wildlife trafficking across the globe, it makes me so incredibly happy knowing that many tigers used and abused in this industry are now well cared for in sanctuaries.”
Learn extra about Winter and Guynup’s two-year investigation of their “Through the Lens” article featured in National Geographic journal’s December print difficulty.
National Geographic Explorers Guynup and Winter shall be honored because the 2024 Eliza Scidmore Award recipients throughout the annual National Geographic Society Storytellers Summit in February, 2024. Past recipients embrace Explorers Kiliii Yüyan, Lynsey Addario, Erika Larsen, David Quammen, Lynn Johnson and Carolyn Porco.
