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S44E2

WILLOW: Diary of a Mountain Lion

Premiere: 10/29/2025 | 0:30 |

Never-before-seen behaviors are shown in a decade-long mountain lion study throughout Montana’s mountains through the eyes of a female named Willow.

Premiere: 10/29/2025
PBS   •   PBS App

About the Episode

A unique, decade-long mountain lion study uses a vast network of over 200 trail cameras scattered throughout Montana’s Sapphire Mountains to piece together the story of a female mountain lion named Willow and her kittens. The film weaves together footage of mountain lions and their complex interactions with each other. Witness an epic saga about life and death that contains never-before-captured events and behaviors at every turn.

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

PRODUCED BY
COLIN RUGGIERO

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
COLIN RUGGIERO

EDITING
COLIN RUGGIERO
JIM ISLER

FEATURING
JOSHUA LISBON
MAGGIE HIRSCHAUER
TYLER CARLIN

ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
JORDAN HOFFMASTER

EFFECTS AND MOTION GRAPHICS BY
ZACH JOHANESON

ORIGINAL SCORE BY
MATTHEW MARSOLEK

ADDITIONAL CAMERA TRAP FOOTAGE BY
JOSEPH PONTECORVO

HOUNDSMAN
VERNON SMITH

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS
PHILIP RAMSEY
KRISTY PILGRIM

THIS FILM MADE EXTENSIVE USE OF THE MPG RANCH TRAIL CAM NETWORK COORDINATED BY
ALAN RAMSEY
CARLY BROOKS

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS TO MPG VIDEO ARCHIVES
PHILIP RAMSEY
CHERIN SPENCER-BOWER
KYLIE PAUL
JONDA LORNES
MAGGIE HIRSCHAUER
TOR BERTIN
THAIN BERTIN
CRAIG JOURDONNAIS
JOSHUA LISBON

ORIGINAL EPISODE PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
The Hite Foundation

ORIGINAL SERIES PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
Arnhold Foundation
Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III
The Fairweather Foundation
Charles Rosenblum
Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao
Sarah and Sandra Lyu
The Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust
Dr. George Stanley and Sandra Caruso
Kate W. Cassidy Foundation
Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation
Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation
Koo and Patricia Yuen
Seton J. Melvin
Sandra Atlas Bass

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

SUPERVISING PRODUCER
JAYNE JUN

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
JAMES F. BURKE

LEGAL COUNSEL
BLANCHE ROBERTSON

DIGITAL LEAD
DANIELLE BROZA

DIGITAL PRODUCER
AMANDA SCHMIDT

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
KAREN HO

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
CHELSEY SAATKAMP

BUDGET CONTROLLER
JAYNE LISI

ONLINE EDITOR
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY

RE-RECORDING MIXER
JON BERMAN

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A PRODUCTION OF RHYTHM PRODUCTIONS, LLC AND THE WNET GROUP

THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC, WHICH IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.

© 2025 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC AND RHYTHM PRODUCTIONS, LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FUNDING

Support for Nature—Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion is provided in part by The Hite Foundation. Series funding for Nature is made possible in part by The Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, The Fairweather Foundation, Charles Rosenblum, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Sarah and Sandra Lyu in memory of Seung and Dorothy Lyu, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Dr. George Stanley and Sandra Caruso, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Seton J. Melvin, Sandra Atlas Bass, and public television viewers.

TRANSCRIPT

- [Narrator] From the hills of Montana comes an extraordinary feat of filmmaking.

Over 10 years, 150 remote cameras recorded a tapestry of creatures.

The star of this story is a remarkable mountain lion, a dedicated mother raising six cubs on her own.

This is Willow.