For 10 years a female leopard named Tasselberry has struggled to protect her cubs from the dangers of predators.

A whole book can be written on all the attempts and efforts made by staff to convince her that Savanna Lodge is for human clients’ comfort only, and that it’s not a luxurious maternity spa for cats.

Several births were successful, but her inability to protect her cubs led to their death.

At the beginning of January last year, Tasselberry gave birth once again inside Savanna Lodge, but this time the cubs survived. “This was the third attempt, where she again created havoc inside the camp with guests and staff members,” said Gerrie Camacho, carnivore specialist at the MTPA, one of the people who has been following her journey.

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This time she had her cubs underneath the deck of the most luxurious room inside the lodge. She and her cubs were removed and kept in captivity until they were recently released into the wild at Nkomazi Game Reserve.

Last week marked three months since the release of Tasselberry and her two cubs, named Django (male) and Savanna (female) by their monitors at Nkomazi.

The MTPA, Sabi Sands, Savanna Lodge, Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, State Veterinary Department, private individuals and Nkomazi Game Reserve have all been playing critical roles along the way. “The amount of effort, time, money and perseverance can not be measured, and shows the extremes that people will follow to help these animals,” said Camacho.

“The most important part of this process is that it was not only about the individual animals, but rather about the bigger picture and the role individuals and individual animals can play to conserve and protect,” he concluded.

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Here are the cubs all grown up:

Django.