Pet Monkey
Lobna Asal, a presenter for Egyptian network Al Hayat TV, had to run out of the studio while interviewing an actor after being chased by a pet monkey. Being on TV can be eventful, but this is surely not what she had in mind when beginning her career as a TV presenter.
Asal and fellow host Hussam Haddad were interviewing actor Ibrahim El-Samman, who brought a monkey to the studio with him – the monkey had appeared alongside El-Samman in his most recent project. Asal took control of the monkey’s leash, and at first the monkey was playful and friendly, but then started to turn a little aggressive as the interview went on.
After Asal pushed the monkey away and defended herself with a cushion, it went to attack her legs, so she gave the leash to somebody else and fled the scene. Another individual then entered the scene to handle the monkey. El-Samman found the situation humorous, and after a commercial break Asal was also able to see the funny side, sharing laughs with El-Samman and her colleague.
Animals in TV Studios
Although she’s unharmed, it does raise questions as to whether having wild animals in TV studios is a good idea – for the wellbeing of both humans and the animals themselves.
In 2016, a bear on the Russian TV show Pro Lubov dragged a woman down to the floor after she approached her from behind. Ironically, part of the aim of the show was to display how dangerous wild animals can be – Bonya the bear began with good behavior, but after being approached from behind by the presenter, turned around and lashed out at her before she could be stopped by her handler.
As Bonya’s claw got stuck in her clothing, she went down to the floor before the bear’s handled pulled her away – fortunately, like Asal, she was unharmed. The crew had previously been warned not to approach the creature from behind or make any sudden movements, but this presenter clearly didn’t get the memo. If you’re looking for more weird animal stories, you should check out the rest of our posts!
