The Tiny Kitten That Climbed Onto a Wildlife Photographer’s Head
Wildlife documentaries are usually built around patience.
A photographer may spend hours waiting for the right animal to appear. A filmmaker may crouch quietly in one place, trying not to disturb the scene unfolding in front of the camera. Sometimes the most memorable moments are carefully planned. Other times, they happen completely by accident.
For Japanese wildlife photographer and filmmaker Mitsuaki Iwago, one unforgettable moment came when he was doing exactly what he had traveled to do: filming cats in Okinawa.
He was surrounded by kittens and working behind his camera when one particularly curious little ginger kitten decided that the equipment was not nearly as interesting as the person operating it.
The kitten wandered closer.
Then it stayed.
Then, apparently deciding that being beside the photographer was not close enough, it climbed onto him.
And it kept climbing.
Before long, the tiny animal had made its way onto Iwago's head while he was still trying to continue filming.
Instead of pushing the kitten away or interrupting the shot, Iwago simply allowed the unexpected visitor to stay.
What happened next was the kind of unscripted scene that animal filmmakers can spend years hoping to capture.
The photographer had arrived to document the cats.
For a few moments, however, one of the cats seemed to decide that it would document him instead.
A Photographer Who Has Spent Decades Watching Cats
To understand why this moment feels so natural, it helps to understand who Mitsuaki Iwago is.
Iwago is one of Japan's best-known animal photographers. His career has included photographing wildlife around the world, and his work has received international recognition. His official biography notes that his photographs have appeared on the cover of National Geographic twice.
But although Iwago has photographed everything from large wild animals to remote landscapes, cats have become one of the defining subjects of his career.
According to OM SYSTEM's profile of the photographer, Iwago began photographing cats decades ago and has continued doing so for more than half a century. His interest in animals began early in his career, including a formative journey to the Galápagos Islands when he was 19.
That long experience is important.
Photographing cats is very different from photographing an animal that simply follows predictable patterns from a distance. Cats are curious, independent and often completely uninterested in the plans of the human standing nearby.
A filmmaker can prepare the camera.
The filmmaker can choose the location.
The filmmaker can wait for the perfect light.
But the cat makes the final decision.
That is part of what has made Iwago's work so distinctive.
Rather than treating cats simply as subjects that need to be posed or controlled, his work often emphasizes observing them as they naturally behave.
His long-running NHK series, Mitsuaki Iwago's World Cats Travelogue, began in 2012 and follows cats in different locations around Japan and the world. The series has become closely associated with his approach to observing cats in their everyday environments.
When the Camera Was No Longer the Most Interesting Thing
The Okinawa encounter is almost funny because of how quickly the kitten's priorities seem to change.
At first, there was nothing particularly unusual about the scene.
Iwago was doing his job.
The camera was ready.
The kittens were nearby.
The photographer was focused on capturing their behavior.
Then one tiny ginger kitten apparently decided that it had a better idea.
Instead of remaining with the other kittens, it approached Iwago.
Perhaps it was curious about the camera.
Perhaps it was curious about the photographer.
Perhaps it simply felt comfortable around him.
Whatever the reason, the kitten did not stop at standing nearby.
It climbed onto him.
And then it went higher.
Eventually, the kitten found itself perched directly on top of the photographer's head.
It is difficult to imagine a more literal example of an animal completely ignoring the intended purpose of a documentary shoot.
The photographer had come to film the kitten.
The kitten, meanwhile, had apparently decided that the photographer himself was part of the experience.
NHK's official material for its Okinawa episode specifically describes a kitten encountered along a coastal road in Okinawa climbing onto Iwago's head. The episode was broadcast in 2014 as part of Mitsuaki Iwago's World Cats Travelogue.
That makes the moment more than an internet-style anecdote.
It was part of an actual television production documenting cats in Okinawa.