by Claire O'Neill

It's hard to imagine two people spending 20 years in the middle of nowhere and not getting sick of each other. Dereck and Beverly Joubert are Emmy Award-winning filmmakers, photographers and conservationists based in Botswana. To an outsider, one of their most impressive accomplishments is simply surviving each other. Ask them about it, though, and they don't seem at all fazed. The Jouberts have a greater cause to keep them energized. No, they don't get bored; they wouldn't live any other way.

  • Dereck and Beverly Joubert, National Geographic explorers-in-residence, focus their conservation efforts on big cats — lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards. Their most recent project followed one leopard for nearly five years.
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    Dereck and Beverly Joubert, National Geographic explorers-in-residence, focus their conservation efforts on big cats — lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards. Their most recent project followed one leopard for nearly five years.
    Photos courtesy of Dereck and Beverly Joubert
  • They met Legadema when she was about 8 weeks old. Terrified during a lightning storm, the baby leopard curled up by the foot of the Jouberts' truck seeking comfort — hence her name, which means "light from the sky" in Tswana.
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    They met Legadema when she was about 8 weeks old. Terrified during a lightning storm, the baby leopard curled up by the foot of the Jouberts' truck seeking comfort — hence her name, which means "light from the sky" in Tswana.
  • The Jouberts followed Legadema and her mother, and noted the ways in which the young leopard imitated her mother's movements.
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    The Jouberts followed Legadema and her mother, and noted the ways in which the young leopard imitated her mother's movements.
  • Legadema was abandoned by her mother when she made the mistake of dropping prey from their tree perch, into the hands of monkeys.
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    Legadema was abandoned by her mother when she made the mistake of dropping prey from their tree perch, into the hands of monkeys.
  • From that point forward, Legadema was on her own — but the Jouberts remained close by.
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    From that point forward, Legadema was on her own — but the Jouberts remained close by.
  • Perhaps because of a decreasing number of predators, the baboon population is growing swiftly in Mombo, and in Botswana in general.
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    Perhaps because of a decreasing number of predators, the baboon population is growing swiftly in Mombo, and in Botswana in general.
  • According to Beverly Joubert, 10,000 leopards were shot illegally during the time that the book was produced.
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    According to Beverly Joubert, 10,000 leopards were shot illegally during the time that the book was produced.
  • The loss of super-predators like leopards will be disruptive for the entire ecosystem.
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    The loss of super-predators like leopards will be disruptive for the entire ecosystem.
  • By following Legadema on a daily basis for so long, the Jouberts hoped to reach an understanding of leopards that would inform their conservation efforts.
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    By following Legadema on a daily basis for so long, the Jouberts hoped to reach an understanding of leopards that would inform their conservation efforts.
  • Despite the sharp decrease in the leopard population, life continues for many. Legadema herself gave birth to two young cubs.
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    Despite the sharp decrease in the leopard population, life continues for many. Legadema herself gave birth to two young cubs.
  • The Jouberts continue their work in Africa, and still keep track of Legadema.
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    The Jouberts continue their work in Africa, and still keep track of Legadema.
  • They hope that by educating people about big cats, people will protect them — not fear them.
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    They hope that by educating people about big cats, people will protect them — not fear them.

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As National Geographic explorers-in-residence, the Jouberts have devoted their conservation efforts to big cats. For their most recent project, they followed one leopard for nearly five years, from her infancy to her motherhood. Her name, Legadema, means "light from the sky" in Tswana (good luck pronouncing it). She was named after a lightning storm, during which she sought comfort by the Jouberts' truck.

Over the phone from an edit studio in South Africa, the Jouberts explained how it's possible to live so close to an animal without intervening:

"The non-intervention is purely because we want to be able to understand these animals in a way that [will help] them survive in the future. ... What we are out there to do is to hopefully show people how similar we are to animals, and how these wilderness areas are so precious."
Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

Dereck and Beverly Joubert with a 600 mm lens.

The photographs from this most recent project have been compiled in a book called Eye of the Leopard, released yesterday. Supplemented by a corresponding film, the images are meant to provoke readers to protect the swiftly diminishing big cat populations. With the help of National Geographic, the Jouberts have also spearheaded the Big Cat Initiative, a global conservation effort.

Beverly Joubert explained that leopards are special in that, unlike lions, they are incredibly solitary creatures. Perhaps the Jouberts' photographs are resonant because they share this affinity with leopards: a comfort with solitude and a proximity to nature.

Hear the Jouberts talk about the book:

Photos by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, from Eye of the Leopard, courtesy of Rizzoli New York, 2009.

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