The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb).
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released her into the wilderness of Kenya. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia Pictures. The screenplay, written by blacklisted Hollywood writer Lester Cole, was based upon Joy Adamson's 1960 non-fiction book Born Free. The film was directed by James Hill and produced by Sam Jaffe and Paul Radin. Born Free, and its musical score, by John Barry, as well as the title song, with lyrics by Don Black and sung by Matt Monro, won numerous awards.
The brown hyena, also called strandwolf, is a species of hyena found in Namibia, Botswana, western and southern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and South Africa. It is the only extant species in the genus Parahyaena. It is currently the rarest species of hyena. The largest remaining brown hyena population is located in the southern Kalahari Desert and coastal areas in Southwest Africa. The global population of brown hyena is estimated by IUCN at a number between 4,000 and 10,000 and its conservation status is marked as near threatened in the IUCN Red List.
Jonathan Scott is an English zoologist, wildlife photographer and television presenter specializing in African wildlife.
John Varty is a South African wildlife filmmaker who has made more than 30 documentaries and one feature film. Varty is also leading a controversial project which aims to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining tiger population outside of Asia.
Eye of the Leopard is a 2006 National Geographic documentary directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Set in the Mombo region of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the film explores the life of a female leopard, Legadema, as she matures from a cub to an adult. Jeremy Irons, voice actor of Scar from Disney's 1994 animation The Lion King, narrates the film. It premiered in the US on the National Geographic Channel on October 8, 2006, and has won many awards including the BBC wildscreen Panda award for Best Sound Wild Screen and an Emmy. Since the success of the film, a book and an app of the same title have been released.
Battle at Kruger is an eight-minute amateur wildlife video that depicts a confrontation between a herd of Cape buffalo, a small group of young lions from a pride, and two crocodiles. The video was shot in September 2004 at the Transport Dam watering hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa, during a safari guided by Frank Watts. It was filmed by videographer David Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg.
Living with Tigers is a 2003 documentary about tigers in Africa. It aired on Discovery.
Disneynature is an independent film studio that specializes in the production of nature documentary films for Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The production company was founded on April 21, 2008, and is headquartered in Paris, France.
William Goodchild is a composer, orchestrator and conductor who produces music for film, television and the concert hall.
Gordon John Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife cameraman, filmmaker and presenter. His work includes the nature documentaries Tribes, Predators & Me, The Polar Bear Family & Me and Life in the Snow.
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor and activist. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. He is one of the few actors who has achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US having won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards for Film, Television and Theatre.
African Cats is a 2011 nature documentary film about a pride of lions and a family of cheetahs trying to survive in the African savannah directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey. The film was released theatrically by Disneynature on Earth Day, April 22, 2011. The film is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. A portion of the proceeds for the film were donated to the African Wildlife Foundation and their effort to preserve Kenya's Amboseli Wildlife Corridor. The film's initiative with the African Wildlife Foundation is named "See African Cats, Save the Savanna", and as of May 2011, ticket sales translated into 50,000 acres of land saved in Kenya.
Kevin Rene Richardson, known as "The Lion Whisperer", is a South African YouTube personality, wildlife conservationist and self-taught sanctuary owner who works with African lions, black leopards, spotted hyenas and striped hyenas.
Inside Mecca is a 2003 National Geographic documentary film by Anisa Mehdi that offers an intimate documentation of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Aside from providing insight regarding the universal principles of Islam, this production emphasizes the historical significance of Mecca to both the Muslim and non-Muslim population. Often constituting a journey of epic proportions, it follows several pilgrims throughout their trip, and highlight their physical and mental preparation, the strain induced by the journey itself, and the spiritual ecstasy experienced upon arrival. The film is narrated by American voice actor Keith David.
Great Plains Conservation is conservation and tourism organization, it helps manage several wildlife reserves in Kenya, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The group currently operates 18 safari camps, which include luxury lodges and tented camps. Great Plains Conservation works together with local governments and community groups to promote low-density, environmentally conscious tourism, supplying economic incentives for the protection of wildlife.
Kevin McCarey is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning filmmaker and author. He has worked extensively for National Geographic Television and the Turner Networks as producer, writer and director of documentaries. His narrative film work includes festival winners Coyotes, San Juan Story and Extinction.
Susan Scott is a British-South African documentary filmmaker known for her film Stroop - Journey into the Rhino Horn War (2018). Born in Zimbabwe, her British family later emigrated to South Africa where she went to high school. Receiving an athletic scholarship to study in the United States, she lived there for ten years before returning to Africa. Scott films all over the world on conservation themed films. She has been named an Unsung Conservation Hero by Africa Geographic.
Beverly Joubert is a South African-born wildlife photographer, filmmaker, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence.
