Award winning filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, have just released a brand new film on National Geographic which tells the story of a young leopard cub growing up in the Botswana wilderness. Entitled ‘The Unlikely Leopard’, the film is yet another message to raise awareness about the world’s dwindling big cat populations. Iconic African species such as lion, leopard and cheetahs as well as Asian species such as tigers are steadily losing numbers as wilderness areas are diminished and poaching for traditional medicine increases.
According to National Geographic and wild cat conservation organization Panthera:
•Leopard numbers have slimmed from 750,000 to as few as 50,000 over the past 50 years.
•Cheetahs have vanished from more than 75% of their natural habitat in Africa, including six countries they previously occupied.
•The remaining wild tigers, less than 3500, are now outnumbered by those living in captivity!
The film tells the story of the leopard cub ‘Dikeledi’ and his mother, chronicling his journey from a cub into adolescence. Althought lighthearted, it presents a compelling case for the individuality and character of these magnificent cats and, if anything, provides even more incentive to put your weight behind the push to “cause an uproar” over the worsening plight of big cats around the world.
Enjoy the opening sequence below…
when will it be screened in south africa?? i can’t wait to see this!
Wow…that is some Amazing footage I will have to see if I can track down the video on this as its already been released.
Thank you for sharing.
The Jouberts have a special way of connecting us with the magnificence in the wild. Thank you.
Excellent trailer. Can’t wait to find it on Nat. Geo.
Thanks for sharing this and all you do for the wildlife!
Would love to come back in the near future.
Regards,
Christine
Just watched the documentary The unlikely Leopard. Googled and found this post. Do not know how we missed it. A great documentary to raise awereness. Wonderful work done by the Jouberts.