Barbara Jensen Vorster was taking pictures of a lion pride in Botswana in July 2018 when a lioness suddenly stole her Canon 7D after she accidentally dropped it on the ground.
Fortunately, Vorster had another camera on hand and captured the entire incident. Once the camera dropped, the local lioness growled and approached the photographer’s group. They retreated to their vehicle and watched what happened next.
“The camera fell with the lens looking up,” Voster said, “she gently flipped the camera on its side and picked it up by the barrel of the lens.” The lioness then brought it for her cubs to play with. “They dragged it through the dirt, chewed on the lens hood and then, fortunately, like most kids, soon grew tired with their new toy.”
Ultimately, the wildlife artist was able to get her discarded camera. It was functioning but the pride left their marks on it. “It was in perfect working order – just very dirty. I now have two huge teeth marks on the focus rings of the lens and small teeth marks on the plastic lens hood.”
