Pictures: Lion Steals Roving Camera, "Takes" Photos

Lion Stalks BeetleCam

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas

Seen through BeetleCam's lens, a female lion approaches the remote-controlled apparatus during a summer 2009 field test. The camera's shutter is tripped via either wireless remote or a timer that causes the camera to fire repeatedly at a set interval.

Having successfully field-tested BeetleCam on elephants, the Burrard-Lucas brothers, "buoyed with optimism," moved on to the king of the African savanna: the lion.

But "in hindsight, this was a foolish idea," they blogged on April 19—the camera was promptly mauled by a female lion (pictured), which carried the gear far into the bush.

Published April 27, 2010

Curious Cat

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas

In BeetleCam's run-in with a lioness (pictured), curiosity killed the camera.

But the Burrard-Lucas brothers considered themselves "extremely lucky" to retrieve an intact memory card from the mangled camera—found damaged but still attached to BeetleCam after a long search.

"On downloading the images, we were delighted to find that BeetleCam had performed its duty admirably, and we got a great series of images from the encounter," they wrote on their blog on April 19.

Published April 27, 2010

Lion Approaches

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas

The lion sidles up to BeetleCam in summer 2009.

After their big-cat encounter, the Burrard-Lucases decided to leave lions off the menu, moving on to other "various unpredictable beasts," such as water buffalo, the duo noted on their blog.

Elderly bachelor buffalo proved to be the most cooperative subjects, ambling up to investigate—but not bite—the device.

(See more lion pictures.)

Published April 27, 2010

Lion Photographs African Bush

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas

An award-winning photographer she's not, but the lioness that mangled the BeetleCam did manage to "take" a few photos, including this image of the Tanzanian bush.

Within groups of lions—called prides—female lions are tasked with bringing home the bacon: They often work together to prey upon antelope, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands.

(Related: "Lions, Hyena Killed With Poisoned Meat.")

Published April 27, 2010

"Mauled" Camera

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas

Its guts exposed by the lion encounter, the cracked camera (pictured on a table after having been separated from BeetleCam) was irreparably damaged and needed to be replaced, the Burrard-Lucas brothers said on their blog.

The BeetleCam vehicle proved remarkably resilient, though, suffering only a few rips in its canvas camouflage and a loose tripod head, which was easily patched with a few pieces of string and wood.

The photographers plan to return to Tanzania in summer 2010 for more wildlife adventures with BeetleCam.

Published April 27, 2010