from eight litters, vardy says only four of mannana's offspring survive to adulthood.o litters to competing male leopards. then, to ensure the survival of her next litter, she endures two separate mating cycles. it is both painful and tedious. leopards mate every 15 minutes for five days. mannanna does this with one, then crosses to the other side of her territory to mate with his rival. each male, she hopes, will think the cubs are his and let them live. after all that, she gives birth to only one cub, leaving this little one especially vulnerable when his mother is away. when she returns and the baby is gone, the culprit is not a jealous male leopard but in this case an african rock python with an obvious bulge. mannanna attacks repeatedly and won't give up till the snake regurnl tats her baby. >> i thought mannana would go after that python and kill it. but there was no act of revenge. all she wanted was her tiny cub back. >> reporter: survival takes cunning and stealth and luck. mannanna had all three for a long time. longer than most of her species. by the time sh