Safari Tourists Spooked By Cheetah On Their Vehicle
The video shows a couple on safari going through some panicky and hilarious moments when a cheetah decides to jump on top of their safari vehicle.
A cousin of mine and her boyfriend recently travelled to visit several National Parks in Tanzania. They came home with one of the most memorable safari holidays they could have dreamed of, with experiences that they will remember for a lifetime. One such experience was during a full day safari in the Serengeti National Park. While travelling long distances over the open plains in search of animals, they came across three cheetah brothers sitting in the open in the distance. Cheetah are one of the most common predators in the park, finding its open plains ideal for its high-speed hunting abilities and skills. Marian and her boyfriend were the only two safari guests in the vehicle which was closed and had an open roof for viewing purposes.
Both were sitting in the back with the safari guide in the front. The next moment no one could believe what they saw. The one male cheetah got up and slowly started approaching the vehicle. Safari goers at this stage thought the cheetah is so kind to come a little closer to give them better photo opportunities. Little did they know this cheetah had different ideas. Next thing, the cheetah jumps onto the bonnet of the vehicle and their it stood, staring around and at those inside the vehicle. Marian immediately found the cheetah too close for comfort. She became panicky and somehow believed that climbing over to the front, she might somehow be closer to the safari guide and be more protected than her boyfriend. The safari guide in the video is still trying to explain to them that there is nothing to worry about when the cheetah jumped onto the roof and came right to the sunroof opening which had a small canopy for shade. With the cheetah peeping through the sunroof, Marian’s boyfriend clearly also went into panic mode.
The noise and commotion inside caused by panicky safari tourists looked to be just too much for the cheetah and the big cat decided it was time to move off again after his brief visit. Marian and her boyfriend were in pieces laughing about the tense but hilarious moment they just experienced with this cheetah. There was a huge sigh of relief that came over them and the laughter continued. Looking at the video closer, one can also see that the other cheetahs attempted to get onto the vehicle in front of them as well. Were the cheetahs keen to get into the vehicles and eat all the tourists? Most likely not. On the open plains of Tanzania’s National Parks, there are not many large trees that provide shade for animals such as the cheetah during the heat of a scorching summer day. Over time, these cheetahs have come to learn that the vehicles and people in them will do nothing to them and started jumping onto the vehicles to get into the shade of the little canopies on top of the safari vehicle’s sunroof. A safari experience no one will really forget.
