Tuesday, August 10th is World Lion Day, so we are re-sharing this conversation with Beverly and Derek Joubert.
"When we were born, there were 450,000 lions, and today there are 20,000 lines. So that's a ninety-five percent decline. There were 750,000 leopards, and now maybe 45,000 leopards left. Cheetah numbers have dropped below 7,000. Tigers have had a little bit of a resurgence, but still under 5,000 and that's really worrying.
We could lose a lot of these animals in the next 10 or 15 years" - Derek Joubert
Are we being the best version of ourselves? That’s a question that Beverly and Dereck Joubert asked quite often during this conversation and also one that they seem to live by. It’s embedded into their work, their lives, their relationships - with each other, the wilderness, and the planet; as if the question floats above their heads as a gentle reminder of who they want to be in the world. And, the continual asking of that question shows in everything that they do, fight for, love, and are actively trying to save.
They are award-winning filmmakers, National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, and wildlife conservationists who have made over 30 films while researching, exploring, and doing vital conservation work throughout Africa for nearly four decades.
They also happen to have what could possibly be the best love story of our time. They have been together for nearly 40 years and the great majority of it has been spent living in the bush in Botswana, making films, doing research, and fighting to save what’s left of the African wilderness and the large predators who inhabit it. For months and years at a time they’ve lived without electricity, without much human interaction, without many comforts, nor personal space – things that most couples have a difficult time managing over a week long glamping trip. They’ve been doing it for 38 years.
Living in the bush for decades has included many death defying close calls, including what they simply refer to as the “incident” with a wounded (therefore angry) cape buffalo that nearly ended it all. Fortunately, everyone survived and after an 8 month stint in the hospital for Beverly, they returned to the bush and began filming again – at the exact place where the attack occurred. Did I mention that they are a little tougher than most of us?
Their love story, like all of the good ones, is about something much bigger than themselves. It’s a story about Africa, the wilderness, the wild animals who live there, and it’s about fighting the biggest fight of our time, to save what’s left of this majestic planet.
In the last 50 years, Africa has lost 90 to 95 percent of its large predators. We could very well witness the end of wild lions, cheetahs and other big cats in a decade or two. It’s that urgent and we are in that much trouble. If we want to live in a world with lions and leopards and elephants and rhinos, then we’ve got to get behind those who are out there on the front lines.
Beverly and Dereck are not only out there, but they’ve documented it for decades, so that we can see and understand the African wilderness in all of its magnificent glory and so that we know exactly what’s at stake, what we are about to lose.
Their most recent film was released in October. It’s a three part series called: Okavango, A River of Dreams. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful journey through the place they’ve called home since the beginning.
