A Leopard's Tale

In the wilds of South Africa’s Kruger National Park, an ageing mother leopardess known as Karula gives birth to a male cub called Hosana. With another cub already under her protection, this new addition puts extra strain on Karula as she goes about the business of providing for and protecting the youngsters with feline precision. Having raised several litters of cubs to adulthood, Karula is an adept mother and her twins grow and thrive.

The life of a leopard is classically one of feast-or-famine and while Karula goes off to patrol her territory and hunt for food, the cubs are left to their own devices and subject to a host of potential dangers. As the dry season rolls in, we encounter Tingana, Karula’s consort and father to her cubs. A formidable presence, Tingana defends their living space with courage and devotion and his impressive genetics soon shine through in his son, as Hosana grows into the “Little Chief” his name denotes.

A perfect storm develops when a troop of baboons converge on the leopards while they are sharing a kill and send little Hosana running for his life. Then a pack of wild dogs appear out of nowhere, determined to have their share of the spoils, but Karula saves their meal by dragging it up a tree, much to the dogs’ annoyance. She even bolsters the leopard pantry the next day with a carcass she steals from under the dogs’ noses - pay back for their harassment. And just in time too, as Karula will not hunt again for her cubs. She mysteriously disappears, never to be seen again, leaving her year-old cubs alone in the dangerous bushveld.