in Botswana, the adventures of a mother and her little ones

France 5 – TUESDAY DECEMBER 24 AT 9:05 P.M. – DOCUMENTARY

Mashatu has the particularity of being one of the rare territories in Botswana where leopards still live in complete freedom. Around thirty share some 40,000 hectares there. But this freedom has a price: the almost permanent danger, whether ancestral (turf war, hunting, rivalry with lions) or recent, born from the imbalances caused by climate change, which gives rise to new enemies.

Three years of observation allowed the film team, led by director Julien Naar, to capture this adaptation of southern African wildlife. They bring back an innovative animal documentary – one of six programmed by France 5 during the holidays. Certain scenes are unprecedented for the simple reason that they did not occur before successive droughts and excessive rains – due to climate change – forced species to adapt. Even if it means transgressing “natural” rules that observers thought were immutable.

The cameras therefore followed a family of leopards for three years, from the moment a mother gave birth to two leopard cubs, a male and a female. They appear on screen barely 1 month old, meowing, playing together in an absolutely cute scene. You might as well be warned: this will not always be the case, throughout this film built on a scenario worthy of an adventure film, where sweetness, humor, suspense and emotion alternate.

Prey and enemies

In the casting, first the mother, 10 years old and 35 kilos, in the prime of life. She seems tiny as she attacks a gigantic mashatu – also the name of a tree – planted in the middle of what was a vast wooded area and which is gradually transforming into a meadow. Its role is to feed and protect its young until they become independent, around 18 months. Narration Warning: “Less than one in two babies survive their first year. »

Then “the lame girl”, the little ones’ aunt and the mother’s older sister. Aged 15, she reigns over the adjoining territory. But it has recently been invaded by elephants, who, at the rate of ingesting 300 kilos of plants per day, contribute greatly to deforestation. And, in fact, complicate the hunt for the old leopard.

The territory is full of potential prey, between impalas and francolins, a type of small pheasant. It is also full of enemies, such as lions, hyenas and baboons. No risk, on the other hand, from the mother or aunt: no infanticide has been observed until now among leopards, due to the survival instinct of the lineage.

Certain scenes should remain etched in the memory: the imposing paws of a lion, in close-up on the dusty earth; the mother and daughter camouflaged behind leaves, their gaze turned towards a baboon; the aerial view of the mother on the lookout before attacking an impala; the mother again who we hear for the first time calling her young, uttering short cries at regular intervals, until she hears their response. Or not.