Big Cat Steals GoPro: Look Inside The Mouth Of An African Lion [VIDEO]

lion-mouth-cam — Is this thing on? A lion picks up a camera in its mouth and carries it around, giving us a peek into its world. National Geographic

It’s hard to look deep inside the mouth of a lion and live to tell the tale. The view through a camera lens is the next-best thing, and it’s one experts captured when a lioness got curious and filched a GoPro at South Africa’s Kruger National Park. It showed them a lot more than just the back of the cat burglar’s throat.

When the camera is wedged between one African lioness’ teeth and is pointed into her mouth, National Geographic reported, it shows off (video below) a deep cavity in one of her lower canines, one in which “the exposed central root canal could lead to an infection or abscess.” And when another feline walks over the GoPro while it’s lying on the ground, her belly reveals she is lactating.

“Curiosity is pretty typical in adult cats, so it's not surprising that they would pick up the camera and carry it off for further inspection,” the magazine says.

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Although he captured interesting footage, Christof Schoeman, the guide and wildlife photographer who set down the camera, told National Geographic that wasn’t his intention. “My main goal is to capture a close-up of their natural behavior — I don't want to change their behavior.”