A Life-Changing Encounter with a Crab
Taylor Haynes, a well-known weather presenter on the Today show, recently shared her harrowing experience of being attacked by a crab live on air. The incident occurred during a segment at the Sydney Fish Markets in April, where Taylor was giving viewers a tour of the new facilities. As part of the tour, she stopped at a tank filled with live crustaceans and held a crab, which quickly grabbed her finger with its powerful pincer.
Health Complications and Ongoing Recovery
Nearly two months after the incident, Taylor is still dealing with health complications. She revealed that she has developed a neuroma, a condition caused by the severe crushing of her finger by the crab. This has resulted in the loss of feeling and sensation in her finger. Taylor is undergoing regular rehab sessions to regain movement and sensation in her hand.
“I’m doing rehab every week to get movement back into it, and feeling and memory,” she said. “I’m seeing a hand surgeon next week to chat further on how we manage this, whether it will take six to 12 months, or we bite the bullet and get an operation to reconstruct the nerves.”
The Moment of Panic
Despite appearing composed during the live cross, Taylor admitted she was actually panicking and worried about losing her finger. “I just screamed and said, ‘Please, I don’t want to lose a finger.’ It still shakes me talking about it,” she recalled.
The situation escalated when the animal handler couldn’t free her finger by hand. Her cameraman had to use large tongs to release the crab’s grip. “We were getting everything to try to separate those claws. My cameraman went running and found these big tongs that were 30cm long that you [use to] pull crabs out of the tank. That finally separated the crab from my finger,” she explained.
Reactions from Viewers and Colleagues
Taylor also mentioned that she often receives messages from viewers joking that she got off ‘lightly’ because the crab didn’t sever her finger. “Some of them were fingerless and said, ‘I didn’t even have half the size of crab as yours that took three of my fingers off’. I’m extremely lucky,” she said.
During the segment, a worker emerged with a giant crab and placed it in her arms, prompting Taylor to bend down and place a kiss on its head. Unfortunately, the crab retaliated by grabbing her finger.
“Ahh! It’s got my finger! He’s got my finger… oh God,” she screamed, sending Today’s hosts into hysterics. Taylor was still struggling to remove her finger from the crab’s grasp when the segment awkwardly ended.
Co-host Alison Piotrowski later revealed Taylor was recovering after the unfortunate encounter. “She’s doing fine, thank goodness, and we will catch up with her later on in the program,” she confirmed.
A Follow-Up Appearance
Taylor made another appearance later in the program with her hand submerged in a cup of cold water. “I’m still in shock. It did take a good while (to remove my hand from the crab),” she said, adding: “I will be going to hospital after this.”
