It was just after sunrise and we were racing to meet local celebrities we had been tracking all morning. She had found a drink nearby, so we arrived in time to see her gracefully slink and disappear, hoping that thousands of her fans will be watching via livestream.
We found Tlalamba, Queen of Juma, the female leopard queen whose physical territory is equivalent to a patch of Bushveld, near Kruger National Park in South Africa, but its digital dominion is spreading all over the world.
This is thanks to Wildearth, a television channel that has been broadcasting live safari drives from Jumagame Reserve and other wilderness areas in South Africa for 17 years. These virtual safaris use five-digit Facebook followers and millions of views on YouTube to turn Tlalamba and Juma leopards into internet royalty, giving fans the opportunity to fly thousands of miles (and spend a few dollars).
During each safari live stream, the Command Center continuously filters viewer questions, answers presenters in real time, creating an interactive experience.
Among the Wild Earth fans, Juma's resident Lion Union and the Hyena Clan also have many dedicated followers. But the leopard – lonely, mysterious and seductive – is inevitably the star of the show.
Wild leopards are usually skittishes, and in many African national parks and sanctuaries, leopard sightings are an extraordinary event. However, Wildearth's long-time home base, Djuma, is located at Sabi Sand Nature Reserve. This is an association of privately owned game reserves known for their excellent leopard viewing. Prices for Maramala and Rondologi began at around $1,300 per person per night, pioneering the practice of tracking, identifying and naming leopards in the area half a century ago.
When Wildearth live streamed its first virtual game drive in 2007 and expanded the original concept of Djuma Dam Cam (a live waterhole camera that has been running since 1998), it opened this expensive corner of the wilderness of Africa to anyone with an internet connection.
WildEarth began offering its own Safari trip to Djuma, led by the programme presenter in 2019, and the response was immediate. The eight available spots on the first trip sold out in three minutes, at a price of around $12,600 each.
The pandemic has shut down Wildearth's real-life Safari business almost overnight. But the impact on virtual safari was just as profound. Over the course of a week, Wildearth's YouTube audience increased by 10 times from 1,000 viewers at a time to 10,000. Today, the channel counts 7 million viewers each month.
Wild Earth's most dedicated fans know Djuma's big cat dynamics and leopard lineage, just like the channel presenters. There is also a roughly constant flow of communication on social media about cats mate with each other and who has the turnip. Territory standoffs, cats increase each other's sizes and even fights over breakfast can be caught on camera.
For avid viewers, it is painful to miss even the live-streaming leopard interaction moments. Lisa Antel, 63, of Greenwich, Connecticut, said Lisa Antel, 63, who is trying to closely monitor the leopards in the reserve both online and on the ground. (As of her latest safari last September, she saw over 100 leopards in the wild.)
For Dawn Borden, 58, who began watching Wild Earth “instead of a Blue Clue” at his Jackson, New Jersey home, the leopard Tingana quickly became a favorite, and the pair followed him for years. In 2019, when Wildearth ran a sweepstakes offering spots for Djuma in the first Safari, Boden came in and won, sending her to Africa for the first time. She saw Tingana in her first hour at Juma.
“Tears quickly came to my eyes,” she said. (The last sighting of Wild Earth Tingana was in 2021.)
The owners of Djuma Game Reserve have since closed the commercial safari camp to reduce the ecosystem footprint. However, these changes have not stopped fans from visiting nearby lodges where vehicles are allowed to Juma, in the hopes of encountering their favorite Wild Earth characters (both cats and humans) while outings on a safari.
Last year, Wildearth launched a dedicated Safari Company called Wildearth Travel. This sold out the 2024 trip, including an eight-night grand tour designed as the ultimate fan experience led by five veteran Wildearth presenters, including viewer favorite James Hendry.
Mr. Boden booked her spot on the Grand Tour, hoping that Tlalamba, the daughter of Tingana, had a child of her own.
The Queen of Juma politely gave her fans an audience. One morning, they spotted a leopard tail hanging from a distant tree, and the group approached to see who it belonged to.
Mr. Borden recognized Tlalamba before Hendry had said a word.
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for Travel Dispatch Newsletter for expert tips on smarter travel and inspiration for your next vacation. Are you dreaming of a future vacation or travelling an armchair? See 52 locations in 2025.
