BubbleCam

Jaguars
February 13, 2009 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium

This was a day of firsts for the BubbleCam. Up until this shoot, we were sure that the BubbleCam had been pushed to its limits by the Bengal tiger trio and the African lions. Little did we know, the two six year-old Jaguars of the Memphis Zoo would put the BubbleCam to it’s ultimate survival test.

Morgan Powers explained to us as he baited the camera that the Jaguars were usually slow to come out, so we expected a lingering approach when we pushed record. The gates were opened and one black feline immediately rushed the camera and pounced––the fastest approach of any animal we’ve filmed so far. When the other jaguar came to investigate, Maya slapped a paw on the bubble and hissed, refusing to share. So Inca sat back and watched.

A few minutes later, however, she got tired of waiting and pounced on the camera. Maya grabbed the base in her teeth and dragged it around the enclosure, trying to keep the BubbleCam all to herself. But Inca followed, slapping the bubble as Maya tugged it around…and around…and around. The whole time Inca chased it, trying to participate, causing the entire crew to shake with repressed giggles. “Hilarious!”

Maya regained possession of her BubbleCam and attempted to pull it up into the tree, where they eat their prey. It was too awkward to maneuver, and she ended up dropping it down the side of the rock. It was flipped onto the belly and each Jaguar took turns surfing, licking, chewing and slapping. Maya flopped onto her back and pulled the camera down on top of her, spinning it around like a wheel with her back feet, playing with it like a house cat with a catnip toy.

The BubbleCam endured consistent slaps, bites, pushes, pulls, drops, and flips from the very first moment. The powerful jaws of the two young Jaguars put more trenches and scratches on the base than the lions, tigers, and bears combined. We were thrilled with the footage we received of these amazing cats and we learned to never underestimate the power of a predator.

Thanks for reading!

Check out some photos:

Snow Leopards
February 6, 2009 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium

This was our second time around filming the snow leopards. The first time, the temperature was scorching and the activity of the animals was little to none, and we’ve been waiting for the perfect re-do moment since. We wanted to capture them at their prettiest, so we waited until the colder season. This time, they were more active and their fur was absolutely gorgeous.
At first, the two snow leopards were fairly indifferent to the BubbleCam laying in the grass in the center of their pen. Tonya Matelski explained to us that they typically keep to themselves. She said she had expected a little indifference and she offered to bait the BubbleCam.
   Sure enough, once the camera was littered with treats, the male leopard was ready for his close up. He immediately walked up and slapped the camera over the lens causing a few young onlookers to hop up and down with excitement. After giving the bubble a few claw scratches, the snow leopard plopped down and rubbed his entire head on the camera. We’re supposing he felt comfortable because he stayed there for the next half hour. What amazing footage!
Thelma D., a zoo visitor who came to take photos, watched the live video and marveled at the footage of the snow leopard rolling against the camera. “This is amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!” From a photographer’s point of view, she said the BubbleCam is capable of incredible things.

We caught some of the zoo visitors who stopped to watch the BubbleCam show and asked them what they thought:

“Wow! How awesome!”

“I just can’t believe the animals are so close!”

“I’m so glad I walked by the snow leopards when I did––this is really cool!”

––Thanks Thelma, John, Jeff, and Petra!

November 14, 2008 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium

Typically, giraffes are very nervous animals. Anything strange or unfamiliar automatically causes them to become timid. Richard Meek, one of the giraffe keepers at the Memphis Zoo, mentioned to us that a coat of paint had kept his tall friends at a distance for an entire day. They wouldn’t come anywhere near the altered area.
Needless to say, the BubbleCam crew expected little reaction from the skittish giraffes if we just hung a camera over the side of their wall. So how do we get around it?

We placed a substitute dome in the barn where we planned to hang the BubbleCam on the film day. It was just a plastic dome, nothing inside, and we kept it on the wall for two days with the hopes that the nervous giraffes would be used to seeing a bubble in their barn by the time we arrived on Friday to film.
They were eyeballing us the whole time we set up. With the camera successfully hung in the place of the dummy-dome, we stepped back with a sigh, each of us thinking there was no way these reluctant giants were going to give us any nose-to-nose with all our equipment, crew, and cameras hovering around.
Luckily, we were wrong.
The animals were very curious about the BubbleCam. Little Angela Kate, the two year old female giraffe, was not the least bit camera shy and she gave us some wonderful footage. Kenya, the large male, was also pretty curious. Each of the adult giraffes made an appearance on film and we are so excited that the BubbleCam captured such unique perspectives of these gentle giants.

Thanks for reading!
Kari Fleskes
with the BubbleCam Crew

November 9, 2008 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium

The BubbleCam goes in with the lions! We had anticipated this shoot for weeks. This would be the toughest test the BubbleCam would face to date and we were hoping it would be rolled away with lion scratches as a souvenir.
After situating the camera, Tonya Matelski, one of the lion keepers at the Memphis Zoo, sprayed perfume and dusted cinnamon around the base as bait. As soon as Fred, the male lion, entered the enclosure he rushed the BubbleCam and flopped right down over the top of it, rubbing his massive body in the scents. Who would have thought that lions like to smell pretty? We sure didn’t. But Tonya’s trick produced some of the most interesting footage we’ve seen so far.

Then Savannah, the fierce female, spotted the BubbleCam. She was less interested in the scents than she was this strange object in her exhibit. Savannah slapped the bubble, raked her claws over it and pulled the whole camera around! In one particular moment of frustration, she braced her jaws around the dome and bit down so hard the spectators cringed. But our BubbleCam survived the lion encounter and left with quite a few “signatures” as a prize.

We were all very excited for this particular shoot. Not only were we filming lions, but we also had a special visit from the Ronald McDonald House and the families from Cetacea Sound Inc. Even though it was pretty cold outside, they came to check it out and the BubbleCam sends out a special thanks!

Thanks for reading!
Kari Fleskes,
with the BubbleCam Crew