20. A Little Too ‘Real’ Reality Show

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Live television can be dangerous. A lot of reality shows will do anything in order to stay ahead of the competition. Imagine when you bring beasts meant to roam around in the woods to a closed set full of people! Your training may work nine times out of ten, but that one time may prove to be the most costly. This particular incident defied all logic. 

19. The Lion, The Kid, And The Show

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It was the usual happy morning on the sets of “Con Sello de Mujer” – a Mexican reality show which is popular for its animal appearances. That day a small clip needed to be shot and it involved a young, but trained, lion and his trainer. On the set, there was also a mother and her little girl, excited to meet the giant cat. 

18. A Seemingly Harmless Situation

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The show started off on a usual note, everyone was all smiles, and the cat wasn’t showing any signs of aggression. It began with the female trainer explaining about lions in the wild and how they differed in captivity. The mother didn’t feel, even for a second, that this distance would actually endanger her child until it was too late. 

17. The Mother Sees It Coming

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The viewers enjoyed it as they imagined how it would feel to be sitting so close to an actual baby lion, the way they would sit near a dog. Most people on the set and those who were watching at home were just amazed at the sight of the lion. Therefore, the mother’s reaction didn’t come across as a warning. 

16. The Trainer Ignores A Sign

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The thrill finally began when the young lion visibly started to come closer to the child. He seemed interested and shot a tender look at the child. The trainer didn’t look surprised, the mother looked more nervous while the child was still oblivious to what was happening. Suddenly, the trainer ignored something which was apparent to the trained eye. 

15. The Mother Senses, His Body Shifts

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The camera was somehow failing to show the exact expression of the young lion. From the sideline, he looked normal–It was hard to tell if he was tense. It was his body language that began to change. The first thing anyone noticed was the mother tightening her grip on the child. 

14. Defied By Their Experience

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The next thing that happened was the child started to cry. Despite her experience, the trainer couldn’t gauge the fact that crying child may irk the beast. Did the family think it through and take the risk anyway? Or were they oblivious to the threat their child was in?

13. Two Unpredictable Species Come Together

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Even the director of the show didn’t think that a toddler may feel uncomfortable in the presence of a giant lion. which is quite shocking really. It’s possible that they were too carried away by the idea of showing a young lion being adored by a human child. Two unpredictable creatures were coming together on the television screen, and it was about to get ugly. 

12. Nothing Bad Could Happen To My Child

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But most questions were raised about the mother. How could she risk this? She, of all the people, would know her child’s behavior. As a mother, she was also expected to know that children can be unpredictable especially during ‘first-time’ experiences. All of a sudden, the lion attacked. 

11. Not For The Weak Hearts

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All of a sudden, Mexican television witnessed the kind of thrill they wished they hadn’t watched. The young lion reached for the child, claws out. It happened in a matter of seconds and by the time anyone realized what was going on, the lion had the child’s leg in its mouth. 

10. Her Leg In His Mouth

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The lion was clearly aggressive now. His mouth still clutching the child’s leg, getting deeper.  The viewers expected the scene to get a lot worse at any moment. For those who joined late, it was like a scene that wasn’t quite happening. It looked like a joke at first. The mother was then terrified, angry, and desperate, tightening her grip on the child more strongly. She looked like she would be ready to fight the lion if need be. 

9. The Teeth Are Seen

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The trainer was still posing to be calm. It was live television, after all. She was still playing the ‘under control’ card and calming both the mother and child down along with handling the lion. The second trainer did his best to put a net in the lion’s mouth, but he wasn’t letting go of the child’s leg. Were his teeth closing in on her skin? 

8. Confusion Everywhere

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The child began to cry in full volume in what looked like a disaster on live TV. The lion was tugging hard, more irritated than ever. It’s just amazing that the cameramen continued to shoot, the crew remained intact and the show was still being filmed. Is a television crew instructed to act like robots in unforeseen disaster situations? Or were they as confused as the lion? 

7. Crisis Is Apparent

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The lion was dragging the girl, with the trainer in between trying to un-clutch her from his jaws while the mother was now spitting violent words towards the lion. It was now up to the trainer to use all her experience and strength to prevent further damage. She was on top of the situation with one hand on the child’s leg, another holding the lion’s mouth. The other male trainer took hold of the lion’s leash while holding him from beneath. The definition of crisis – even as the camera panned closer. 

6. Bloody Murder

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At this point, the mother started to scream in Spanish. She shouted phrases like bloody murder with all her might while also trying to untie her baby from the lion’s grip. It was then that the trainer did something extremely cruel but effective. 

5. Could She Be Bleeding?

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The trainer gently asked the mother to stop shouting or crying. She asked her to stop trying to untie the baby and instead focus on calming the baby down. The mother’s reaction at first was one of disbelief. But she soon realized that the trainer was serious and what she said made sense. Yet she couldn’t ignore the fact that the lion’s teeth were on her baby’s leg for several minutes now. Could she be bleeding? 

4. Hush, It’s Okay

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It was the mother’s turn to do something completely out of her nature, something most remarkable. She suddenly fell silent, holding her baby firmly but smiling at her. She was now trying to tell the baby that it was okay. “It’s just a lion, he won’t harm you” – she kept communicating with the baby while maintaining a steady smile. The trainer was smiling, too. 

3. Into Her Mother’s Arms

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Both trainers managed to pry the lion off of the baby. In a fraction of a second, the baby was out of the lion’s grip and into her mother’s arms. The lion was removed from the scene, the viewers could now see the host of the show again. Only, this time he neither smiled nor gripped the microphone. His jaw had dropped in amazement.

2. In Total Shock

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The trainer immediately took the mother and child in her arms, smiling and petting their hair. The host of the show was still trying to act normal, his face visibly uncertain. But as he saw the three women smiling and crying at the same time, he got back on his microphone to address the viewers. 

1. A Reality Show Gone Bad

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This was the most real, any television show could get. But it hardly pleased the viewers who testified later of being uncomfortable from the start. The mother hasn’t pressed charges against the channel so far. It could be partly because she herself had endangered the life of her child in making the decision to bring her on the show. We just hope the little baby girl doesn’t carry any mental trauma in the future.

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