A little "Staying calm" goes a long way.
Here’s a video clip from my last Safari: The video shows my stepson Britton Hayes who was on his first trip to Africa with his dad.. We had come across several cheetah who were taking a midday break. We stoped for lunch while observing them. After a time they got up and started to move in unison as we were photographing from the road. They moved diagonally across our field of view and as they neared the vehicle the two younger brothers broke off and came towards us. The cheetah makes use of high points such as termite mounds to scan the environment. Apparently we represented a unique scouting platform to them. Before we knew it, one jumped on the hood of the safari vehicle while the other made use of the spare tires out back to get into the rear window. Britt credits our experienced guide Alex Mnyangabe with helping him stay calm and asked me to film him. While Britt was frightened we never felt any threat coming from the cheetah. After a short exploration the three of them moved away to continue their hunt. An amazing experience we will never forget. My thanks to Grand Ruaha Safaris for bringing us to this unique encounter with the wild .
Comments
(Old Spike)
I actually walked with a cheetah. Albeit, one that had been bred in captivity. They gave me a leash to hold on, and told me to let go if the cheetah ran for any reason. Cheetahs IRL are much larger than you would expect, videos fail to convey just how large they can get. They have excellent hearing and great speed. They can't retract their claws, which means they can't climb up trees, which is the reason why their only way to survive against almost all other predators in the wild is sheer speed. The one I was walking with heard a noise in the bushes and took off faster than I could react. The leash bolted out of my hand, fortunately the guide told me that the leash was for the cheetah to take me for a walk, no the other way around, so I should only slightly hold it (versus tying it around my wrist): it probably covered 150feet in what looked like 3 or 4 strides, and completely dissapeared from sight before I could turn my head back in its direction. Wonderful creatures, on their way to extinction unfortunately, since leopards and lions are gaining the evolutionary upper hand.
(Long Spike)
relax
(Short Spike)
This is my ride bitches! Shoo!
(Old Spike)
Also, a trip to Africa is probably one of the most unique experiences you can have in your life, especially if you like photography. It can be as expensive or as cheap as you prefer, but as always, getting to see the Big 5, or better still, camping with the Big 5 is a VERY expensive thing. South Africa is probably the most "touristy" version of Africa -aka: you can tour the entire Kruger from inside a rental car-, also the cheapest, but still very worth it. Tanzania and Zimbabwe are mostly guided semi-private tent excursions: more expensive, but you get to live the raw experience. Best time to go on Safari is dry season -April to September-, as grass and vegetation are sparse and short, giving you the best view of the action. Plus rain season can bring devastating floods which means cancelled hotel reservations, or just straight up not being able to get to your hotel because the fking bridge is out: i literally had to surf through 400 feet of sand in a rental Chevrolet Cruze to get to our lodge during January, and in order to get out we had to get a 4x4 to pull us out.
(Short Spike)
Fake news. No human has ever been killed by a cheetah in the wild.
(Short Spike)
I believe the lineage of this feline roots back to North America. They where imported into the africas.
(Long Spike)
Incorrect. You're thinking of COUGARS.
Stunned when I searched "Cougar" and this came up. Jesus what a cougar.(Old Spike)
Oh come on, that 2nd one is not a cougar, FML
(Long Spike)
check this lady out
(Long Spike)
No, Bryanna Holly doesn't strike me as a cougar.........but beautiful women age like cars, not houses. She is just a few years from cougardom.
(Short Spike)
Unless they are asian or black. Those are some good genes keeping the marks of old away!
(Short Spike)
I was gonna say that I'd have been the one to freak out, scream, flail, kick, get murdered, etc. Then I saw the pic comments and none of that matters anymore.