Product Description
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Fleeing a raging fire and a rival pride headed by the dangerous
cub-killing lioness Silver Eye, Ma di Tau ("Mother of Lions") and
her fragile cubs must make their perilous escape by swimming a
crocodile-infested river. Remote Duba Island is both a refuge and
a strange new world for Ma di Tau and her cubs to conquer. On
Duba, Ma di Tau must face off with the island's herd of fierce
buffalo whose huge, slashing horns are among the most dangerous
weapons in Africa. Although the buffalo are one of her biggest
threats, they are also one of her best hopes for survival if she
can prevail over them. Yet, even as Ma di Tau faces devastating
loss and escalating perils, she becomes part of a stunning
turning point in the power dynamics on Duba Island, bringing
together a competitive rival pride in a titanic primal bid to
preserve the thing that matters most: the future of their
bloodlines.
About the Director
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Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers from
Botswana who have been National Geographic explorers-in-residence
for over four years. Their mission is the conservation and
understanding of the large predators and key African wildlife
species that determine the course of all conservation in Africa.
They have been filming, researching, and exploring in Africa for
over 28 years. Their coverage of unique predator behavior has
resulted in 22 films, 10 books, 6 scientific papers, and many
articles for National Geographic magazine. This body of work has
resulted in five Emmys, a Peabody, the World Ecology Award, and a
recent induction into the American Academy of Achievement. They
recently have been awarded the Presidential Order of Merit by the
government of Botswana for their life's work.
Beverly Joubert also is an accled photographer, and many of
her photographs have appeared in National Geographic magazine.
Filmmaking for them has always been a way to bring the message
of conservation to audiences, and it is estimated that over a
billion viewers have seen their film "Eternal Enemies."
Their recent expansion into conservation tourism via their new
company, Great Plains, is a venture into community/conservation
partnerships in Africa, and Great Plains has received
international awards for responsible tourism.
It is the Jouberts' belief that while some areas need the
wilderness to be maintained in isolation, other areas will
disappear unless viable, extremely-light-ecological-footprint
(low-volume, high-cost) benefits are generated for communities.
The total a of impacted conservation land under Great Plains
influence is about 1.5 million acres (607,000 hectares). These
projects all to rehabilitate the environment and return these
vast tracts of land to nature.
But it is the plight of big cats that attracts their major
effort today. Dereck and Beverly established the Big Cats
Initiative, a program with National Geographic designed as an
emergency action fund to drive the world's attention to big cats
and to develop real solutions to stop the decline that has seen
lion numbers drop from 450,000 to 20,000 in 50 years.
"We no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to big
cats," says Dereck. "They are in such a downward spiral that if
we hesitate now, we will be responsible for extinctions across
the globe. If there was ever a time to take action, it is now."