Beverly and Dereck Joubert, the award winning wildlife filmmakers and Explorers-in-Residence at National Geographic, have won the Granada Award for Animal Behaviour for “Eye of the Leopard” at the 2008 Panda Awards. The awards were handed out on Wednesday 22 October at this year’s Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol, England.

In it’s 26th year, the awards are regarded as the most prestigious in the natural history filmmaking calendar. Over 420 entries were received this year.

Eye of the Leopard is the extraordinary film about the life of one leopard from the age of 8 days old until adulthood, a coming of age story in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. A unique spot pattern on Lagadema, allows audiences and the filmmakers to tell her apart from any other leopard. The film is told via flashbacks to her earlier years at relevant moments to investigate and show that blend of what is learned behaviour and what is innate in all cats.

The Jouberts were awarded an Emmy (Best Science, technology and nature film) last year in September for Eye of the Leopard. Earlier in 2007, they won the Nature Film category at the Jules Verne Awards for Eye of the Leopard. They have won four other Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award as well as the Grand Teton award.

Speaking from England, the Jouberts said they are ecstatic about this latest award.

“Having spent almost three years with Lagadema, Eye of the Leopard is a film that is very close to our hearts. This little leopard has become an ambassador for all other cats around the world.”

On 11 October, the Jouberts were also bestowed with the 2008 World Ecology Award at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.

The World Ecology Award is presented by the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center. The award recognizes eminent individuals who have raised public awareness of global ecological issues and made significant contributions to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

Previous winners of the World Ecology Award include Dr. Richard Leakey and Dr. Jane Goodall.

The Jouberts’ goal in life is to use their talents to enhance African wildlife conservation. They are board members of various trusts and conservation bodies and two years ago formed the Great Plains Trust, an entity that is involved in areas of conservation under threat that could do with an injection of funding to support community involvement and can be turned around with minimal tourism.