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Eye of the Leopard

I've been a lifelong admirer of big cats, constantly fascinated by their strength, agility and grace. It's hard not to be in awe of their wild beauty when we're granted even the briefest of glances into their world.

Eye of the Leopard, photographed and authored by Beverly and Dereck Joubert, does precisely that and offers us a window into the elusive and often undocumented world of the gorgeous spotted creatures.

The Jouberts are National Geographic explorers and filmmakers who have spent more than 25 years capturing African wildlife on film.

The story begins when the Jouberts found a leopardess and her eight-day-old cub. For the next four years, their lives were dedicated to the two - learning everything they could about them and documenting their lives in Botswana for this book.

The cub was named Legadema ("Lightning"), and she is one of only perhaps 50,000 leopards left on earth. Eye of the Leopard is the culmination of years of dedication from the Jouberts; it is a "celebration of an animal, just one of her kind, a young leopard who completely seduced us."

Unfortunately, it is also a lament because the Jouberts fear the majestic cats will disappear all too soon, forever. They believe that by celebrating and revering leopards, and by filming them in the wild and sharing them with the world, they can break down fear and misunderstanding - the ultimate conservation effort.

The photos and text in Eye of the Leopard are nothing short of remarkable, both uplifting at times and heartbreaking at others. It's easy to get lost in the hundreds of breathtaking black and white and full color photographs, all of which transport you to the wilds of Africa.

To learn more about the Jouberts and their efforts, visit www.wildlifeconservationfilms.com.

© Beverly Joubert, Eye of the Leopard, Rizzoli New York, 2009.

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