Most camps in Zimbabwe are unfenced or, if fenced, the wires are missing, allowing most animals to go through.

Usually, while camping, we place a camera trap to know what goes around camp after sunset. I have posted some of the results earlier (https://bushsnob.com/2022/09/24/night-visitors/ and https://bushsnob.com/2017/10/25/night-visitor/).

We try to place the camera pointing at a used wildlife path that nocturnal animals are likely to use, usually on the way to the water.

Probably because they smell different, camera traps attract attention from some of the passing animals as it happened in this occasion.

We were camping at the Masuma dam picnic site, one of our favourite places in the Hwange National Park where a new fence had just been placed in an effort to separate campers from large mammals. So, as usual, before midnight, we retired to bed after placing our camera pointing at a path that followed the fence towards the dam. “That should be a good spot.” I remember commenting with my son. It was…

In the early hours of the morning, apart from the usual hyena calls, a lion started to roar nearby, a futile effort to compete with the louder noise the elephants were making at the water edge closer to the camp.

The following morning we went to collect the camera and it was not there! We searched for it until we found it a few metres away from its original place. The strap had been chewed and the protective carcass was cracked! We collected the pieces and, anxious to look at its memory card, we returned to camp.

It took a bit of study to understand what had taken place. (The first 4 pictures are stills from the short videos taken by the camera).

First sign. Dust that indicates that an animal walks past.

The camera being moved.

Camera still in movement and the culprit appears briefly.

The camera is dropped on the floor and lies pointing towards the fence.

Although the camera was on the ground by now, the unmistakingly shape of a lion flank can be seen. The animal moves from top to bottom.

Finally, we recovered the camera. Luckily, we managed to recover the memory card and reconstruct the events that had taken place.

We have camped in this same spot for several years without nocturnal incident showing once again that tents are safe.