The “Legadema” Story

In 2010, Beverly and Dereck Joubert, both filmmakers and National Geographic explorers, found a leopard in a 2000-year-old tree in Africa. This discovery took the duo on a new and special journey of 4 and a half years, following the development of this calf on a daily basis, which they called Legadema (light from the sky). Through their research, the Jouberts ventured into the wildest and most dangerous places in Africa, specifically Botswana, where they currently live in a tent in a swamp and where they are subject to extremes of heat and cold, even terrible storms. All so that, in the end, they managed to capture the essence of African animals, specifically felines. His initiative in partnership with National Geographic for the preservation of big cats in Africa arises from his desire to celebrate the animal and the frightening numbers of its reduction in the last 50 years. Half a century ago, there were 450,000 lions, but in 2010 there were only 20,000, and the 45,000 tigers that existed were reduced to around 3,000. Finally, the number of leopards, which 50 years ago numbered 700,000, has dropped to 50,000. These numbers are falling because of safari hunters, both legally and illegally, and because of the demand for the cats' skins.

“Legadema” conveys the impact of extinction on our world. There is a significant increase in white in the collection, almost as if we were erasing the record of these animals over the years, but at the same time, white represents hope for an end to poaching and pollution that destroys these cats' habitats. . There is also an evolution of the finish that represents the abusive search for the skins of these animals and a reduction in color and pattern that represent the reduction and authenticity of the animals.