News : Da Vinci's mechanical lion walks

An idea described by Leonardo Da Vinci for mechanical lion is turned into reality by a French museum dedicated to the Italian artist.

The lion which is life-sized weighs 100 kgs and is made of wood and paper-mache.

It has a clockwork mechanism which is hand-wound to set it in motion.

Da Vinci left no plans or sketches of the mechanical lion, but did leave written descriptions with detailed drawings of mechanisms that give insight into how he may have made it work.

Reports from Da Vinci's time said a mechanical lion that could walk was presented to King Francois I by the Florentine community in the French city of Lyon in 1519, to celebrate a new alliance between Florence and France.