Leopard Fight Club

Filmed over a period of 4 years, this is the remarkable story of a young leopard's journey from Rookie to Royalty as seen through the watchful eyes of an old sentry baboon. Baboons rate high on leopard's menu and as the official guardian of the troop; The Watcher can't afford to slack off. That's why this old baboon chooses high ground for his daily surveillance. From these elevated look-out posts, he watches the arrival of the Rookie leopard. His warning screeches echo in the valley and the troop scurries. The Watcher knows that the young leopard has only recently left the protection of his mother. Rookie still lacks the experience and the skill set that makes leopards such lethal predators. Every day is a struggle to gain stealth and rhythm. Lions and hyenas sense that the leopard is a vulnerable green-horn. As he hones his skills this hunter becomes the hunted. One particular feisty hyena stalks the young leopard. He is looking for a show-down. This is hyena territory and the Rookie is trespassing. In a face to face combat the odds between them, are even. For now. But the threat from these predators is the least of the Rookie's problems: A male leopard rules on the other side of a thin strip of no-man's land where he finds temporary refuge. He can smell him. It's an ominous scent with a clear message: Keep out or die. He can't survive on the periphery living off lizards, hares and leftovers. He needs access to larger, richer hunting grounds. And to do that, he must cross a boundary that leads him directly into the territories of the leopard monarch he should best avoid. The Rookie's invasion of this turf sets off a series of bloody cat fights where there can be only one winner. The young leopard sharpens his tactics. He bides his time. Fur is going to fly.