In this project, National Geographic felt the best way to raise awareness for their cause was to create a jump scare to freak out passers by.
They created this animatronic leopard to roar and snarl at people as they walked near. With over 30 servos, it has a pretty good range of motion, at least in it’s head and neck. It certainly moves well enough to startle you before you get a good look at it.
While the concept is fun, I personally just enjoyed these behind-the-scenes videos showing off how the rig works. I know that there is a goal to raise awareness of the difficulties that big cats face, but I wonder if this would have been even scarier if left skinless!
