When the wildlife subjects are roaming free, and their movements are unpredictable, a more flexible and sophisticated approach may be required. Remotely-controlled miniature vehicles have been built by numerous photographers to obtain close-up images of dangerous animals.

The reaction of an animal to such a vehicle cannot be predicted, and some vehicles and cameras have been destroyed or damaged by larger animals. Nevertheless, remotely-controlled vehicles offer a unique ground-level perspective, particularly in the case of animals that cannot be approached safely by human beings. The image here shows "Beetlecam" used by the wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas. This vehicle was custom made by the photographers but is now also available to order from their website. It has a hard "lion proof" shell but it seems from the image below that wheels will always remain somewhat vulnerable!