Lions Up Close

An armored, remote controlled contraption fitted with a camera snaps dangerously close pictures of lions in Masai Mara.

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BeetleCam photographing a lion cub.BURRARD-LUCAS.COM

The BeetleCam is back! And this time, it’s lion proof.

The new, improved, and heavily armored version of the remote controlled, four-wheel camera buggy that met an untimely death in the jaws of a curious lioness in Tanzania in 2009 headed to the African savannah and captured stunning images of lions in Masai Mara, Kenya.

Originally conceived and built from scratch by brothers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas in 2009, BeetleCam offers wildlife photographers a safe, original, and often interactive perspective of African wildlife. But during its original test run in Tanzania, the contraption proved too flimsy for the likes of lions, which destroyed the car and the camera on their first encounter. Over the next 2 years, the brothers made a few improvements to the ...

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