Swapping school life for wildlife is an adventure one Hampshire man undertook a decade ago. RON TOFT and ALI KEFFORD met up the man known as Mr Africa...

THE female cheetah pads her way across the Serengeti. She's a finely tuned killing machine, which can run at 70mph in

pursuit of her prey.

But, for the moment, the fastest land mammal is succumbing to her maternal instincts.

In her mouth is one of her newly born cubs, still blind as its eyes have yet to open for the first time.

It's a rare and breathtaking sight as she gently carries her offspring in her lethal jaws.

And there to see it are former England cricket captain, David Gower, and his guide Mike Mockler - the teacher from Ringwood they call Mr Africa.

"David used to live in what was then Tanganyika where his father was a government official. We had such a dull morning animal-wise, that I even made a point of showing him a grey heron! The afternoon, however, was just electrifying," he explains.

Mike quit his job as deputy head teacher at a Dorset comprehensive school over a decade ago to devote himself to bringing wildlife enthusiasts eyeball to eyeball with nature.

He travels all over the world, regularly taking groups to countries such as Costa Rica, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, India, Spain, Finland and Norway.

He has visited his beloved Africa 90 times in the past 20 years.

On Mike's last safari to Botswana, he and his group saw a leopard kill an impala right in front of them.

"It's almost unheard of for leopards to hunt in broad daylight, but here was this individual pinning an impala to the ground and suffocating it just a few feet from us.

"I do seem to have a lot of success with big cats. The first animal I ever saw on a game drive in Africa also being a leopard - a predator that normally hunts at night.

"You can go on many safaris without seeing even one, yet while leading a group in Tanzania we saw two cheetahs successfully hunting gazelles on two successive days.

"Generally speaking, most people who enjoy watching big cats hunting do so purely because of the drama involved - appreciating the speed, say, of a hunting cheetah and watching tactical manoeuvring by lions."

Mike, who is in his 50s, has witnessed some truly breathtaking wildlife encounters.

"Seeing a wild tiger in India is a mind-blowing experience. I've been lucky enough to have seen and photographed tigers in India on many

occasions, but every time is still a fantastic

experience.

"While leading a tour five or six years ago, a big male tiger emerged from some tall grass at twilight and walked across this very lush, grassy clearing towards the forest.

"The orange of his coat glowed in the half-light as he slowly walked past our vehicle without looking at us. It was as if we didn't exist.

"He then just melted into the forest. I felt a real lump in my throat. The people with me were totally silent. Nobody could bring themselves to say anything. It was just one of those moments you never forget. I could write a book about experiences like that."

Yet before 1982, Mike had never even set foot in Africa.

He and his wife Pat were teachers, dealing with wayward pupils, angry parents and end-of-term reports.

For seven long years the couple saved for a holiday of a lifetime in Zambia, one which was to turn their lives inside out.

The manager of the lodge where they stayed was so impressed with Mike's photographic skills and his knowledge of birds that he invited him back to help out.

"I expected to be fixing fences after elephants had knocked them down and just mucking in but, after a few days, he gave me the keys to the Land Rover and asked me to take two guest on a game drive."

Mike returned to the camp several times in the 1980s.

Then tour operators and tourist boards began asking him to plan and lead tours. Initially it had been a way of going to the African bush at no cost during school holidays, but then he started earning money.

Today he is one of the UK's most sought-after wildlife tour leaders.

And such is the high quality of his pictures, he scooped the From Dusk To Dawn category in the 2000 BG Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.

Although his new-found profession may seem a glamorous job, Mike confesses it's hard work.

In fact, each trip is so tiring he tries not to lead more than eight a year himself - despite a self-confessed addiction: "I love the light, the space, the distant horizons and the sounds at night. For me Africa is a drug and I'm totally hooked."