What it's like to be eaten by a TIGER: Big cats are caught on snowman-cam

Tiger attacked a remote video camera hidden in a snowman at safari park

Keepers planted the device then watched from a nearby 4x4

Footage shows the inside of the big cat's mouth - including teeth and gums



If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be eaten by a tiger, then think no further.

Footage captured at a safari park in south west England shows the moment a big cat pounces on its prey - from the victim's perspective.

But have no fear, the victim is a remote video camera hidden in the snow at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire.

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A tiger at Longleat Safari Park is captured ferociously attacking a snowman, causing it to split in half and fall to the ground

Different perspective: As the tiger pounces, a camera hidden inside the snowman captures the underneath of its fascinating body

The female tiger gets up close to the camera and peers in through the snow as it ponders whether to devour the device

The hungry beast took such a liking to the camera that it started to eat it.



The small device carried on recording as Siberian tiger Soundari put it in her jaws, and captured incredibly close-up shots of the inside of the creature's gaping mouth.

Her razor-sharp teeth were so clear that when keepers at the park watched the footage back they were able to do a dental check on Soundari.

The footage also recorded her extremely rough tongue - designed to strip feathers, fur and meat from prey in the wild - as well as her black, cavernous throat.

Frightening: The mouth of the big cat, including its whiskers and white fur can be seen in the footage

The tiger decides to make a move on its victim and opens its mouth, revealing its cavernous throat and extremely rough tongue

Fascinating: As the tiger attacks the camera it remains working and films more of the inside of its mouth. The footage was so close-up it enabled its keepers to do a health check on its gums and teeth

Unsurprisingly, seven-year-old Soundari didn't like the taste of the two inch wide GoPro camera and spat it out.

Staff at Longleat had earlier entered the enclosure when the four resident Siberian tigers were locked in, to build two snowmen in the snow for them to play with.

They embedded one video camera in the shoulder of one 6ft snowman and a second in the snow on the ground.

The keepers also shot some more footage from the safety of their 4x4 parked nearby.

The pictures show the inquisitive tigers at first sniffing around the snowmen before they playfully demolish them.



They also capture two of the creatures on their hind legs play-fighting.

The tigers are filmed after the camera was placed by the keepers at the safari park and before they launch their attack

Steve Mytton, a spokesman for Longleat, said: 'We set the cameras to record and jumped back in the Jeep 20 metres away before the tigers had been let out.

'They had seen us just spend an hour building the snowmen and as soon as they were out they made a beeline for them.

'They surrounded them and one or two jumped up at the taller one.

'Then Soundari saw the camera in the ground and went to eat it. She tried to pick it up in her jaws but decided she didn't like it and dropped it.

'The camera was still working when we retrieved it later and we couldn't quite believe the quality of the footage.

'It must be unique footage showing the inside of a tiger's mouth and what it must be life to be its helpless prey. We have never seen footage like it before.

'It was also very useful as it gave us the opportunity to do a quick health check on Soundari's mouth, gums and teeth.'



Soundari is one of four Amur Siberian tigers that are kept at Longleat. The other three are Svelti and Shouri and Turlugh, a male.

They were all born in captivity and are aged about seven years old.