Lioness Steals a Photographer’s Camera, Gives It to Her Cubs as a New Toy
Photographing wild animals has certain risks. But often, the potential hazards are worth it—something photographer Barbara Jensen Vorster can attest to first hand. In July 2018, she was snapping pictures of a lion pride in Botswana, until a local lioness stole Vorster’s Canon 7D after she accidentally dropped it on the ground. (The “thud” piqued the big cat’s interest.) Luckily, Vorster had another camera on hand and captured what happened next.
Once the camera dropped, the lioness mother growled and approached Voster’s group. They withdrew to their vehicle and watched the drama unfold. “The camera fell with the lens looking up,” Voster recalled, “she gently flipped the camera on its side and picked it up by the barrel of the lens.” The lioness then brought it to her cubs who started to playfully pounce on it. “They dragged it through the dirt, chewed on the lens hood and then, fortunately, like most kids, soon grew tired with their new toy.”
Eventually, Voster was able to fetch her abandoned camera. She found that it still functioned fine, but the lioness left her signature. “There are two huge teeth marks on the rubber focus rings of the lens and small teeth marks on the plastic lens hood, both of which I decided not to replace.” She spent roughly £200 getting the camera fixed, but the cost was worth the photos she snapped that day. Calling it a “priceless experience,” she also puts it into perspective: “What photographer can boast that their lens had been in a lion’s mouth?”
Barbara Jensen Vorster: Instagram
https://mymodernmet.com/barbara-vorster-animals-playing-with-a-camera/
Andrew Kane, moosephoto.smugmug.com My favorite story of animals and photography equipment interacting comes from a company I recently rented a camera from. LensRentals has a pretty solid insurance policy for the equipment they lend - it even has a clause about it protects you in case of bear attack! Oh, boy, is there a story there.
Andrew Kane had rented some equipment from the company in 2012 and went to go shoot wildlife in Yellowstone. At one point, while a ways into the woods, he realized he was being approached by a grizzly. So he backed up as much as possible, until he reached a point where he had to climb over a brush pile and wasn’t able to take the equipment with him. He did, however, document what happened next with his second camera.
(Photo Credits: Andrew Kane, moosephoto.smugmug.com)
LensRentals did honor their insurance agreement and sent him replacement equipment, but as a result added a special clause to their insurance agreement and wrote this great blog post explaining why it was expressly included. They also included this lovely bear’s-perspective flowchart about the encounter.
