Egypt’s dynasty of big cat trainers takes the show home

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw sits next to his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' after leading a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With Egypt's national circus closed due to the pandemic, lion trainer el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw sits next to his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' after preforming a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With the national circus closed due to the pandemic el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw leads a partial show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe campaign to encourage people to stay home, with his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With Egypt's national circus closed due to the pandemic, lion trainer Ashraf el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Tuesday April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw leads a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, with his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana' and his sister Bushra el-Helw, inside their apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With Egypt's national circus closed due to the pandemic el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, Youssef el-Helw take a photo of 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw, right, with his team mate Mahmoud, who works at the national circus and 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' after performing a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With the national circus closed due to the pandemic, el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana' sits on a table after 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw led a partial show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With Egypt's national circus closed due to the pandemic el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw leads a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, with his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana' and his sister Bushra el-Helw, inside their apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With Egypt's national circus closed due to the pandemic, el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw hugs his 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' after performing a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With the national circus closed due to the pandemic, el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Tuesday April 28, 2020 photo, 26-year-old lion tamer Ashraf el-Helw feeds his 5-year-old female African lion Joumana, after performing a show part of a coronavirus safe home and stay safe campaign to push people to stay home, inside his family apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With the national circus closed due to the pandemic, el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this April 28, 2020 photo, siblings and lion tamers Bushra el-Helw, right, Ashraf el-Helw, second right, and Youssef el-Helw, pose for a photograph with 5-year-old female African lion 'Joumana,' after performing a show, part of a coronavirus stay home and stay safe call to encourage people to stay home, inside their apartment, in Cairo, Egypt. With the national circus closed due to the pandemic, el-Helw has his big cats performing tricks at his Cairo apartment and posts performance videos on social media. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)