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Eye of the Leopard
A new
two-hour program shows us a leopard's struggle for
survival in the wilds of Africa.
This
month, the National Geographic Channel
presents a new program you
won't want to miss. Husband-and-wife filmmakers Dereck
and Beverly Joubert spent three years following the life
of a single leopard. The result of their work is the
two-hour special Eye of the Leopard, an
enthralling journey deep
into the rarely seen lives of leopards.
The project began when the filmmakers were
observing leopards in Botswana, Africa. One
leopard in particular
caught their attention. The cat had a
birthmark that made her
stand out from all the
others, and they named her Legadema, which means "light
from the sky." As they followed Legadema over the next
few years, they watched as she grew from an eight-month-old
cub to an adult.
Leopards are skillful
predators, but in their harsh
environment, survival cannot be
taken for granted. Legadema and her mother were
forced to fight off baboons and
escape from
scavenging hyenas. While documenting
the leopards'' adventures, the Jouberts chose to respect
the natural environment and didn't allow themselves to
interfere in the leopards''
existence, even when the
animals faced great danger.
As Legadema grew, she refined
her hunting skills, moving from lizards
and squirrels to warthogs,
impalas, and even dangerous baboons. One
incredible episode is particularly
memorable and shows that leopards
aren't simply fierce hunting machines. Legadema kills a
mother baboon, and then finds the young baby baboon
still clinging to its
mother. To the filmmakers''
amazement — and ours — Legadema doesn't harm the
baby baboon. Instead, she lies down and wraps
herself around it protectively.
When a scavenging hyena comes along, Legadema carefully
lifts the baby
to safety. For
viewers, this complex scene brings
different emotions, but one thing is certain: watching
Legadema protect the baby baboon is
unforgettable.
Rarely do we get a
chance to learn so much about the mysterious lives of
leopards. Tune in to Eye of the Leopard for
insight into a leopard's
world.
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