Adam White, a producer at the BBC Natural History Unit wanted to film the underwater courtship and mating of crocodiles. The only way we could hope to achieve this kind of detailed behaviour was in a captive situation - but even so, filming presented considerable challenges. To do this we went to St. Augustine Zoological Park in Florida, and spent nearly 2 weeks filming "Maximo" an enormous Saltwater Crocodile.

One of the main problems with filming underwater scenes at zoos, is the quality and cleanliness of the viewing glass. In this case the exhibit glass, was pretty good, although there were a few scratches. And although the glass is cleaned regularly, as you can imagine, trying to get every bit of glass spot free is something of a challenge when you have over half a ton of scales and teeth with you. Maximo is not known for his gentle temperament!

The solution was to look for a remote underwater camera system - and Polecam fitted that bill perfectly. the wildlife cameraman, Mark MacEwan, was trained at Polecam headquarters, and then took brand new jib and underwater camera set-up out to Florida. The variety of lenses, including an amazing wide-angle ( Fujinon 2.8mm ~ 80 degrees ), and the lightweight set-up allowed us to get shots we could only have dreamed of before. The only real challenge was that as both Adam and Mark were transfixed by the images on the monitor, someone had to remember to keep and eye on Maximo. Waterproof the camera maybe, but it sure has wouldn't be croc-proof.