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National Geographic Beauty And The Beasts A Leopard s Story
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Dawn comes |
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And a lethal beauty comes |
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As they have for generations, |
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This is the story |
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in tooth and blood. |
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Leopard and warthog, |
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Ever opposed, ever entwined. |
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They share but one struggle |
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to survive each new day |
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The warthog has been called |
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"the most astonishing object |
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Yet for all its comic bumps |
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it has managed to hold its own |
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The domain of the cat |
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across the eastern Transvaal |
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where the Sand River snakes |
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through the |
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and the Mala Mala Game Reserve. |
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Here flourishes a remarkable |
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a world where day by day, |
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the same individuals |
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Among them is a female leopard. |
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And she's not shy about |
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letting others |
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She is beautiful, |
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The leopard comes cloaked in |
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Even in mating, |
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Of all the great cats, |
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By contrast, consider the |
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Chin to rump, |
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But even a suitor's best-laid |
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The warthog's a plodder, |
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But one thing no warthog |
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for during this delicate time |
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Night belongs to the leopard. |
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And with the sunset, |
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the male and female come |
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As mating, this is |
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In time, our leopard becomes |
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She has two newborn cubs... |
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sisters. |
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Her offspring need her care |
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Here, the threats |
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One of the deadliest |
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Once hyenas become aware |
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she must take immediate action |
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to safeguard |
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Awaiting them is a |
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Nearby, in the remains |
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another birth |
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The infant warthogs come |
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Barely five minutes |
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and he's already |
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From the outset, |
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the warthogs' true character |
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They may start off looking old |
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but they are feisty, |
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above all, tenacious. |
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And they will need to be, |
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Both the newborn warthogs |
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about to set off |
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through the seasons |
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Slowly, tentatively, |
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the cubs leave behind the |
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Outside, a new world |
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And there are many dangers |
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For two baby sisters, |
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like how to subdue |
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This early roughhousing will |
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like how to pin down prey |
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And right from the start, |
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it's clear |
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Shy and solitary, the leopard |
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Even upside down, the leopard |
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Suffocation brings an end |
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that's ruthless, |
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But she'll never have a chance |
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The jaws of a hyena |
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The mother leopard |
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not with two cubs |
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Lightning is an |
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to the cubs seeing it |
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Down in their burrow, |
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the little piglets |
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of the crashing and |
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But nothing will stop |
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from their feasting. |
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As the deluge intensifies, |
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the mother warthog tries |
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But it's a losing battle. |
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With the water seeping in, |
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the young warthogs take refuge |
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on their mother's back. |
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For the bedraggled piglets, |
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Because of their sparse |
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many young warthogs will die |
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of exposure within |
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When finally the night clears, |
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her firstborn cub |
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Unlike her warthog neighbors, |
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she's hardly the worse |
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The mother leopard |
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There's far more than rain |
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Still in the calm |
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there's always time for |
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With sunrise, the terrors of |
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The warthog family |
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Unlike the leopards, |
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the gregarious animals |
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It's an extended family, |
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for the young cousins |
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First some rivalries |
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out with a little bumping |
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And then, it's playtime. |
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One warthog is a bit bolder |
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and bouncier than the rest |
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But there's method |
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One day their lives will |
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A little strenuous exercise |
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a pick-me-up of piglets, |
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mother's milk |
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Up a shady maroela tree, |
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the mother leopard is on the lookout for prey. |
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As the heat of the day builds, |
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the warthogs head down to the water |
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But they're not |
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The mother warthog is alert, but she |
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The water feels great. |
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The youngsters, |
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are caught up in their discoveries. |
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They're finding out how useful the mud |
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A few feet more and she'll be in range |
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The predator must kill to survive. |
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The prey must escape. |
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Tails at full mast, the little warthog |
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They have just been given their first |
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It won't be their last. |
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Midday in the warmth |
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the leopard cubs are mastering |
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For the firstborn and her sister, |
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As the day wears on, |
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The hyena pack is on the prowl. |
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Something has caught their eye |
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She's unable to keep up with her pride |
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Not only is she crippled, |
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she's pregnant and |
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The hyenas won't attack. Not yet. |
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The lioness is still too strong. |
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A long night is on its way. |
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The mother warthog and her piglets can |
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to the refuge of their burrow. |
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But for many others, as night descends |
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the plains are all too open, |
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Only the hunters walk without fear. |
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The mother leopard's stalk is |
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a scrub hare. |
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But the little hare has |
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and it'll try every one |
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until it's overwhelmed. |
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But this hare isn't just a meal, |
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Rather than kill her prey outright, |
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The firstborn is eager to practice, |
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unlike her timid sister. |
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She's not simply playing with her food |
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she's learning about the fine line |
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It's knowledge her sister won't get |
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Too nervous to enter into the fray, |
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she hangs back |
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If character is destiny, an intrepid |
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spirit may make all the difference |
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The precocious cub |
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Full moon on the African plain. |
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The cycle turns from death |
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The crippled lioness has given birth. |
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But weak and wounded, |
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And at the first sound of danger, |
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The baby's cries will attract |
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With the terrible logic of survival, |
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she's forced to leave her youngster |
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Still she can't shake off the hyenas. |
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Too weary to go on, she braces herself |
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Her growl is stronger than she is. |
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It's just enough to keep |
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There's easier prey around. |
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The plaintive cries of the abandoned |
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And they attract a deadly visitor. |
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Normally, the mother leopard would |
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But she hesitates. |
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Perhaps it has aroused |
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And now, with her old antagonists |
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Should she take it? Should she stay? |
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There is no choice. |
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With her goes the little one's |
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Unaware of her baby's fate, |
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But they are no where to be found. |
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Her roars are heard, not by the pride, |
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but by rogue male lions, |
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They come at a run. |
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Their intentions, |
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This behavior is highly unusual, |
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Their killer instinct is so strong, |
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their urge to attack an injured animal |
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that they seemingly cannot stop. |
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In the dark hours, the young are more |
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Left behind while their mother hunts, |
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their instinct is to explore. |
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Yet each time they do, |
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This is when death stalks the savannah |
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The thieves are never far off. |
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Unlike the mother, the male leopard |
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especially with this young hyena. |
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And when the scavenger retreats, |
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The mother has a much bigger worry. |
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Her cubs. |
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As her anxiety deepens, her mate, |
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high above the ground, |
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So do the persistent hyenas below. |
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One's got his foot caught. |
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Looking for a meal, |
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It's now or never. |
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The male leopard too must avoid |
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Mounting the tree with surprising ease |
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Enticed, an adolescent male tries |
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But he's not much of a climber. |
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He's bitten off more than he can chew. |
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And right now, |
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The smartest one's the female below. |
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Soon the inevitable happens. |
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And the lioness that did all the work |
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Only the scraps are left. |
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A 20-foot drop barely fazes her. |
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Once more the leopards have provided |
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Although the lions might hear her, |
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the mother leopard is still calling |
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She's now desperate to find her cubs. |
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She searches through the tall grass, |
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seeking a familiar scent, |
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does lead to her cub. |
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It's the little shy one, |
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She never learned to fend for herself. |
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Not even a mother's tender affection |
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Still somewhere out there |
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And the culprits are |
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All she can do is call, |
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Until... |
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hidden in the grass is her cub. |
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At last, mother and |
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This must feel like joy. |
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One has died and one has survived. |
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The cub must now find other playmates, |
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She has made it through the toughest |
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Soon enough, she will have to face the |
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Death can't hold back the dawn. |
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In this hard land, |
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the passing of one little leopard |
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As hesitantly pugnacious as ever, |
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Tucked away in their burrow, |
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and many nights unlike |
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Even this small, |
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The upraised mane shows their wariness |
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They can't quite be sure the little |
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After all, it would be their worst |
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nightmare to run into |
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Yet a quick dig at an old enemy |
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is just too good |
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Then again, sometimes they |
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A year goes by. |
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For the leopards, |
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as the turning of the seasons. |
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At 20 months, |
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There's a new tension |
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One day soon they will be competitors. |
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Where once there was affection, |
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there is now indifference, |
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It's a sad but inescapable moment |
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as the mother forces her youngster off |
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She's now completely alone. |
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The coming of the rainy season |
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For the new generation |
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zebra and hyena, |
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On the savannah, hunger must |
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The first tests of a solo hunter |
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But they're trickier than they look. |
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A hammerkop is simply the wrong prey. |
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And a turtle |
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it may be slower... |
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but it's not necessarily any easier. |
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How does this work? |
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Where exactly are the |
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It's hard to believe |
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to catch could be so difficult to eat. |
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It's really better |
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The leopard is still half a cub. |
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She's still playing. |
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But soon she'll have to put away |
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her childish things and get down to |
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You can only play so long. |
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What she needs is real prey |
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like impala some as young as she. |
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This is what she's been training for. |
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She's stalking well. |
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She's forgotten just one thing |
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a noisy tree squirrel. |
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The impala seem to mock her as they go |
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There are many frustrations |
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The road to knowledge is a hungry one. |
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For the inexperienced leopard, |
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everything must seem bigger and |
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This evening, returning |
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the young warthog and his siblings |
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Their mother is giving them |
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It's time they were out on their own. |
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But being out on your own can be |
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Like the leopard, the warthog |
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He needs to find a safe retreat |
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But they're all taken. |
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And now the clock is ticking. |
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The warthog and the leopard |
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yet always at a comfortable distance. |
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But that gap is closing. |
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Then suddenly the leopard |
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An empty burrow is an |
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The young leopard has tasted warthog |
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As for the hyena, he'll never give up. |
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And so they end the night leopard, |
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hyena and warthog locked |
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The skirmish has left its mark |
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Down below the warthog is shaken too. |
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It's been a rough time for all of them |
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But both animals can claim |
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They have made it |
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Battered and scarred, |
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the warthog is lucky to have |
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Like the ones that went before, |
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each new generation must earn |
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Over the coming months, |
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Yet one achievement continues |
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She's still unable to outwit |
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They're better at this than she is. |
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In the midst of the impalas |
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They use the impalas as an |
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protection against mutual enemies. |
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The leopard has arrived. |
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And this time she hasn't been detected. |
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The impalas sense danger, |
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but they're not sure where. |
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The leopard zeroes in on the warthog. |
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Once more they stand just yards apart. |
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The impalas scatter in panic. |
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But this time she's tackled the |
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But can she hold on to it? |
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Success. |
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And for the warthogs escape. |
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This is the leopard's grand moment |
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Over time, she will take many impalas |
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Of course, |
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But now she's learned |
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The hyenas are left to vent |
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Hunter and hunted |
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side by side |
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Each has mastered this world |
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And each has but one reward |
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to guide the next generation |
