Derwent AEGIS Infrared Illuminators go on safari in Kenia

AEGIS illuminators help film crew capture images for the BBC 'Big Cat Live' series

AEGIS UFLED infrared (IR) Illuminators from Derwent, members of the Bosch Group, were used by the BBC's Natural History Unit to monitor the behaviour of the Marsh Pride of big cats at night, in Kenya's world-famous Masai Mara game reserve.

The Big Cat Live series, broadcast live on BBC One in October 2008, featured live web-casting allowing audiences to watch footage 24-hours a day from the heart of Africa's most famous reserve.

"The film of night time activity was a revelation and it was the infrared illumination, alongside thermal imaging technology that was used to track the animals which helped make this possible," says Ian Crosby, Bosch's Product Marketing Manager. "The AEGIS illuminators helped the film crew to capture high quality images under the cover of darkness to a greater extent than previously possible."

The AEGIS Illuminators were used by the BBC throughout the filming of the 8 part series, presented by Kate Silverton, Jonathan Scott, Jackson Looseyia and Simon King.

Colin Jackson, the BBC producer of Big Cats says: "Infrared technology again played a crucial role in the crew's ability to find, track and ultimately to film the animals, in using IR equipment this recording was able to go on throughout the night revealing a side of life that is rarely, if ever, seen."