Living with BIg Cats

This is a story about the intimate relationship between two passionate filmmakers and the apex predators they work with. Dereck and Beverly Joubert discover much about these big cats, unravelling many myths, and unveiling new big cat behaviours to science.

By Dereck and Beverly Joubert

Narration by Jeremy Irons

This is the intimate story of the relationship between two filmmakers and explorers, and a leopard they find when she is 8 days old. With the most sensitive methods they follow her, at first with her mother, and then alone, as she matures. Their earlier film Eye of the Leopard deals with the story of her coming of age. This film tells us of the relationship that develops between them and this leopard. It is passionately told, and in many ways it is a story of internal conflict, testing of boundaries and of seduction…the seduction of Dereck and Beverly Joubert our human characters, by Legadema the leopard. Although in reality, we are all seduced by her and the Africa she moves around in so confidently. There are very few real stories about the connection between man and beast, especially in the wild: this is one of them, told in an intelligent and modest way. Once again the partnership with Jeremy Irons as narrator pays off and you get a sense of mutual appreciation in this combination.

Produced by Wildlife Films and National Geographic

Available as 45, 52 mins.