Thursday, March 17, 2016

Look what the big cat dragged in! Lions steal ranger's GoPro and mistake it for lunch


  • Lions at Kruger National Park, South Africa spotted the hidden GoPro
  • The pride shared the camera round with one even putting it in his mouth
  • Ranger Massimo Da Silva, 29, certainly got the unique footage he wanted 
  • Despite surface damaging the camera still worked afterwards 
A pride of cheeky lions decided to get their 15 minutes of fame by stealing a GoPro.
Lions from the Avoca pride at Makanyi Lodge in Kruger National Park, South Africa, nonchalantly strolled up to the camera - before one of the cats decided to put the camera in its jaws.

Park ranger Massimo Da Silva placed his GoPro camera near the majestic animals hoping to capture some unique footage, however it did not go according to plan.



What do we have here? Lions from the Avoca pride at Makanyi Lodge in Kruger National Park, South Africa, nonchalantly strolled up to the camera
What do we have here? Lions from the Avoca pride at Makanyi Lodge in Kruger National Park, South Africa, nonchalantly strolled up to the camera

Toy! Massimo attached his camera set-up to a length of fishing nylon for a quick retrieval but failed to account for their quick reflexes. He was left shocked when the two easily took the GoPro to the rest of their pride
Toy! Massimo attached his camera set-up to a length of fishing nylon for a quick retrieval but failed to account for their quick reflexes. He was left shocked when the two easily took the GoPro to the rest of their pride

The 29-year-old said: 'We arrived at the waterhole in the morning and there was the Avoca pride, we approached them and decided to put a GoPro up to see what would happen.'

Hoping to outsmart the lions, Massimo attached his camera set-up to a length of fishing nylon for a quick retrieval - but failed to account for their quick reflexes.
Massimo was left shocked when the two big cat burglars easily took the GoPro to the rest of their pride.

However, all was not lost as the lions captured unique footage of their pride as they shared the camera with each other.

Nom, nom, nom: Massimo said: 'When we arrived back at the sighting, we saw that the camera was in the mouth of the lion without the casing'
Nom, nom, nom: Massimo said: 'When we arrived back at the sighting, we saw that the camera was in the mouth of the lion without the casing'

MY camera: The lion who initially picked up his GoPro managed to open the casing, causing the camera to tumble to the ground, only to be picked up by another member of the pride
MY camera: The lion who initially picked up his GoPro managed to open the casing, causing the camera to tumble to the ground, only to be picked up by another member of the pride

Rare sight: However, all was not lost as the lions captured unique footage of their pride as they shared the camera with each other
Rare sight: However, all was not lost as the lions captured unique footage of their pride as they shared the camera with each other

He said: 'When we arrived back at the sighting, we saw that the camera was in the mouth of the lion without the casing.'

The lion who initially picked up his GoPro managed to open the casing, causing the camera to tumble to the ground, only to be picked up by another member of the pride.

Although the camera was left with puncture wounds, Massimo was amazed to find that it was still working.

In typical cat fashion the lions soon grew bored of their new chew toy and dropped the camera - allowing the park ranger to swoop in to retrieve it.

Playtime's over: In typical cat fashion the lions soon grew bored of their new chew toy and dropped the camera - allowing the park ranger to swoop in to retrieve it
Playtime's over: In typical cat fashion the lions soon grew bored of their new chew toy and dropped the camera - allowing the park ranger to swoop in to retrieve it

Unique footage: Although the camera was left with puncture wounds, Massimo (pictured) was amazed to find that it was still working
Unique footage: Although the camera was left with puncture wounds, Massimo (pictured) was amazed to find that it was still working

No comments: