A Leap for Legadema: The True Story of a Little Leopard in a Big World

The Jouberts—husband-and-wife photographers, conservationists, and National Geographic explorers-in-residence—document their time spent filming a young leopard and her mother, Tortilis, in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Sharp photographs depict quiet moments between Legadema and Tortilis, as the mother leopard protects and cares for her cub: “Each day that Legadema’s mother was playing with her, she was teaching her how to be a big leopard.” The Jouberts capture the threats inherent in the “noisy, chirping, squeaking, trumpeting, bellowing, roaring Eden” of the leopards’ sub-Saharan home, most dramatically when Legadema and her mother are nearly attacked by a lion. It’s a straightforward but gripping portrait of leopards in the wild and a young animal developing into a capable, independent adult. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)