Woman stunned as pesky monkeys pinch her phone and take selfies

Last updated: 2025/06/04 at 3:15 PM

Jasmine Siddon

3 Min Read

A woman was left stunned after a group of pesky monkeys pinched her phone and recorded a series of selfies.

Shahra Bahloul accidentally dropped her iPhone in a zoo enclosure after someone bumped into her.

The 32-year-old had to leave the device and wait for staff retrieve it.

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She picked it up the next day to find it covered in mud and sand.

And after she returned home, she spotted a hilarious video had been uploaded to her iCloud.

“I picked it up in a garbage bag covered in mud and sand,” Shahra, a social worker, told What’s The Jam.

A woman was shocked after monkeys at a Dutch zoo stole her phone and recorded selfies. She recovered it covered in mud and later found the cheeky footage on iCloud. — Shahra Bahloul. (Picture: Jam Press)

“I only discovered later that the monkeys had filmed a video.

“I looked at my iCloud via a laptop and there were images.

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“I was very surprised of course – and it makes it so good.”

In the video, which now has 210,900 views online, a small group of mantle baboons can be seen gathered around the camera.

(Picture: Jam Press)

One of the primates even tried to bite the device.

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Two other monkeys then appeared in view as they all looked at each other, perplexed at the foreign object in their home.

They continued to pick it up and move it around.

The monkeys took multiple photos and videos after the phone was dropped at the Wildlands Adventure Zoo, in Emmen, Netherlands, on Friday (30 May).

(Picture: Jam Press)

Shahra, from Almelo, Netherlands, received 12,000 likes on her video.

Many viewers were impressed that she was able to retrieve her phone successfully, and loved that the monkeys had taken it an opportunity to create some cheeky content.

Cindy said: “How did you get this back? Awesome.”

Social media comment on the post of A woman was shocked after monkeys at a Dutch zoo stole her phone and recorded selfies. She recovered it covered in mud and later found the cheeky footage on iCloud. — Social media comment on the post. (Picture: Jam Press)

Noa, who works at the zoo, said: “Luckily you got it back. Greetings from a Wildlands employee.”

“I just love this,” added a third viewer.

Another person said: “Ah, fortunately you still have these nice images. It is priceless. I would like to. I am actually very curious about the rest now haha.”

“Also how they all stand around that phone haha,” added a fifth viewer.

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