Big Brother Is Watching Veenu Sandhu Lists Some of the Most Innovative Wildlife Cameras

Big brother is watching Veenu Sandhu lists some of the most innovative wildlife cameras remote-controlled camera disguised as a life- the behaviour, intelligence and extreme survival tac- sized penguin that can waddle, jump and tics of animals and, thus, offer an unprecedented A even lay a fake egg to effortlessly infiltrate glimpse into their lives. Created by Bristol-based the aquatic bird’s colony. Another one that can swim John Downer Productions (jdp.co.uk), these spy- with the dolphins without arousing the suspicion of cams can currently be seen at work in a wildlife these super-intelligent mammals. And yet another show called Spy in the Wild. Unlike the more com- one than can survive a blizzard to get up close and mon spy cameras such as pen, USB, watch and key- personal with polar bears. Here are some dream chain cameras, these highly customised cameras equipments created for wildlife photographers and might not be commercially available yet, but are videographers using robotics that try to encapsulate nevertheless worth a look. PHOTOS: COURTESY ANIMAL PLANET Drift Cam DRIFT CAM is designed to film autonomously without the need Blizzard Cam Snowball Cam for a camera crew. This comes in DESIGNED TO operate in THE LARGE spherical shape and particularly handy if the crew is extreme Arctic environments — tough reinforced shell of the snowed in. Triggered by detecting on sea ice, frozen glacial fjords snowball cam prevents bears infrared heat, it can sense a polar and treacherous snow-covered from getting a firm bite or hold bear from a distance of 50 metres. mountains — this camera has of it. Perfect for frontline Once deployed, it can remain in two powerful electric motors filming, this camera is able to standby for up to a week, even at that quietly propel it on skis at roll across most terrains, even minus 30 degrees Celsius. The drift a speed of up to 64 kmph. The uphill. It can also film while on cam is fitted with a solar powered camera turret is designed to the roll. satellite phone that alerts the crew resist temperatures below every time it is triggered. minus 30 degrees Celsius. And the onboard high-definition camera can be remotely Dung cam operated over a distance of 1 THIS CAMERA rests on a pile of km. But what happens in case dung that can crawl around a polar bear takes fancy to this on hidden wheels. Its larger camera? That threat is and faster version is called thwarted by an onboard decoy ‘poop cam’. There is also the device called the snowball ‘plop cam’ which is based on cam, which can dock and a single dollop of dung and is undock from blizzard cam, indistinguishable from the attracting the bear’s attention real thing. to itself while the blizzard cam scurries to safety. Penguin cams Iceberg Cam Full-size penguin cams FOR BEARS on sea ice, one needs a very (centre in the picture) are a different spycam . Iceberg cam's powerful revolutionary concept — they thrusters produce enough speed to keep up walk, get back up when with swimming bears. With two cameras knocked over, have cameras for above and below water filming, this in their eyes and can even lay spycam captures their own ‘egg cams’ that are designed to mimic penguin eggs, revelatory but are resistant to cracking from extreme weather and immense footage of impacts. Inside the tough shell is an HD remote camera capable hunting and of recording for up to 12 hours. There is also the ‘underwater scavenging penguin cam’ that can swim alongside penguins even in rough polar bears in seas at the speed of 4 knots and can dive down to 100 metres. great details. Spy Tuna SPY TUNA can accelerate to over 24 kmph and dive up to 25 metres. Its jet-propulsion system is completely internal and safe for marine animals that get too close. It has a large high-definition camera in its mouth and two miniature HD cameras in its eyes, giving all-round vision when inside a dolphin pod. The camera in its mouth feeds back a live picture to the operator who can adjust its direction accordingly. Catch these spycams on Spy in the Wild on Animal Planet throughout May every night at 10.

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