It's behind you! The cheetah in the jeep. Photo / via video
It's behind you! The cheetah in the jeep. Photo / via video
A man on a safari in Tanzania got more than he signed up for when a cheetah jumped inside his jeep.
Britton Hayes from Seattle, Washington, was with a tourist group when three cheetahs out hunting in the Gol Kopjes of Serengeti National Park took interest in the tour.
Thegroup was focused on one cheetah who climbed onto the hood of the jeep when a second decided to jump inside the back of the vehicle, the Daily Mail reported.
The cheetah checks out the jeep with the tourists inside.
A terrifying video shows Hayes remaining eerily still as one cheetah explores the back seat of the car right behind him.
"We started to notice the cheetahs became curious of the vehicle," Hayes said to KOMO News. "But it was too late to drive quickly away or anything like that because you don't want to startle the animals, because that's when things usually go wrong."
The cheetah sniffed around and chewed on the seats before leaving the jeep.
Hayes credited his tour guide for helping him remain calm and showing him how to slow down his breathing.
This helped keep the cheetah at ease while it was exploring the vehicle.
"Honestly, it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life while it was happening," Hayes said.
The tourists were told to breath calmly to put the cheetah at ease.
The occupants of the jeep were initially drawn to another cheetah on the bonnet of the vehicle.
"I felt like I had to clear my mind of any thoughts because from everything you're told about predators like that, they can sense fear and any sort of discomfort you're feeling and they'll react accordingly."
Once the cheetahs walked off, he explained that the entire group just starred at each other for 10 seconds before they were finally able to relax again.
Hayes admits that they laughed about the event hours later and were relieved nothing bad happened.
The breathtaking video was taken by Peter Heistein while the group was on the Grand Ruaha Safari.
