BBC journalist Alex Dunlop was trying to report from a zoo when he got engulfed by lemurs on camera.
The man was attempting to report on an animal count at the Banham Norfolk Zoo when the curious critters decided they wanted a taste of the limelight.
BBC posted a video of the incident on Twitter with the caption: “You know what they say about working with animals…Lemurs 1-0 BBC Look East Reporter.”
You know what they say about working with animals… Lemurs 1-0 BBC Look East reporter @dunlopalex . 😆🙈🎥 pic.twitter.com/xowDC6NJn9
— BBC East (@BBCLookEast) January 8, 2018
Alex Dunlop was a good sport about the whole thing and responded:
“Give you BBC online team an inch and they’ll take a country mile (no lemurs were hurt in the making of this movie.)”
You can tell as soon as the footage starts that it’s going to be interesting.
A reporter stands in the center of the frame but he has a lemur crawling down his shoulder and another one crawling up his torso. From an adjacent fence, a third lemur hops onto the innocent reporter’s waist.
A fourth lemur jumps onto Dunlop from off-camera and the animals start playing what seems like a game. Tag, maybe?
Alex Dunlop is a professional man, though, and he continues to try reporting about the zoo. Apparently, the lemurs did not appreciate the man’s professionalism as much as I did and they completely engulf the fella.
Dunlop laughs at one point when one of the primates grips his hand. “Ow,” he says and gently shoos him away.
BBC’s viewers loved the footage, responding to the tweet by saying it’s “Fabulous” and “brilliantly cut.” Other journalists in the UK were getting in on the fun responding to the tweet as well.
Tanya Mercer tweeted, “I love this! You’re a natural, Alex!!”
Julliette Maxam asked Alex, “More dangerous than your defense assignments?”
Paul Scoins simply requested that the full, unedited footage be aired and set on repeat.
Want to play with lemurs?
Turns out, you can have this experience without being a BBC reporter. The Banham Zoo in Norfolk, UK has an attraction known as “Lemur Encounters.”
This animal encounter is basically a walk-through enclosure similar to an aviary. They have two different types of lemurs, the red-ruffed lemurs and the ring-tailed lemurs.
There is actually a red-ruffled lemur in the video. You can see him about 6 seconds in and again at 9 seconds. These little guys are actually among the largest primates living in Madagascar.
The ring-tailed lemurs are seen more often throughout the video. They are the little gray fellas who absolutely mob Alex Dunlop. Ring-tailed lemurs are, of course, known for how much they like to move it, move it. And these animals do not disappoint. They know how to MOVE!
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