Long before Joe Exotic became the star of the hit Netflix series Tiger King, he was the subject of a BBC documentary that featured an astonishing moment involving a bear cub and a tiger cub he’d placed in the same enclosure.
The tiger seriously spooked broadcaster Louis Theroux, as he interviewed Joe Exotic for his 2011 film Louis Theroux Meets America’s Dangerous Pets.
“This is scary,” admitted Theroux, as the tiger repeatedly jumped up at him:
Joe Exotic was also nipped by the big cat in the clip the BBC shared online on Thursday, at one point screaming out: “Oh shit, that one hurt.”
He also debated the merits of keeping animals in captivity with an analogy about people who use wheelchairs.
Check out the video here:
The full episode is available to watch on Netflix UK & Ireland, which shared other segments from the documentary on YouTube:
Louis opened up on Instagram last week about spending time with Joe Exotic, who is serving 22 years in prison for (among other charges) trying to hire someone to kill wildlife sanctuary owner Carole Baskin.
Answering fans’ questions, he said enjoyed his time filming with Joe, but he “wasn’t always relaxing to be around though”, noting he was “an emotional dude”.
“He was worried about the angle of our documentary. He pulled access for a bit, then we talked him back,” Louis recalled.
“Another time I remember him freaking out because we filming near the chimpanzee enclosure and the chimps were going nuts and flinging shit at one of the keepers. I just remember hearing on the keeper’s radio, ‘I want those BBC guys out of there! I don’t want them filming the chimps going crazy!’”
“The most troubling thing he said was probably that if the park went bankrupt he would kill all the animals,” Louis responded to another question, saying in another reply that Joe “didn’t seem to have active vindictiveness in him but he was fixated on certain people to an unhealthy extent”.
Check out the trailer here: