While on safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve, this curious cat got up and personal with a tourist.
With its razor-sharp claws and teeth, the wild cat is one moggy you don’t want cuddling up on your lap.
Nonetheless, the daring creature got into the back seat of a jeep as it traveled through the African plains, much to the surprise of an Irishman inside.
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It slowly walked over to holidaymaker Mickey McCaldin, barely a foot away from his face, after entering the vehicle.
Family friend David Horsey captured the tense standoff between the two as the cheetah appeared to be making himself at home on Mickey’s lap.
‘I’ve lived in Kenya all my life and I’ve never seen anything like this,’ said David, 62, of Mombasa, Kenya.
‘The cheetah wasn’t afraid to approach up close and personal. Mickey was first calm, but I believe he was worried it would try to sit in his lap.
‘You don’t want that, unlike a domestic cat.’
David took the photos on June 12 as the party was tracking a well-known family of cheetahs lead by Malaika.
They had been following them for a few days and saw that the family hadn’t killed in a while.
‘The family had been seeking for a gazelle for a few days with no luck,’ David explained.
‘Because we’d been there for a few days, I guess they were used to the vehicle, so the mother jumped on top to have a better view.
‘I believe the second cheetah tried to follow her but took a different route.
When it had had enough of Mickey, it turned away and gazed out the window for a few moments.
‘It just sprang out after that.’
Mickey was on vacation with his wife and sister, who are friends of David and Vicky.
‘Me and Vicky have lived in Kenya our entire lives, yet we never feel the need to leave,’ David explained.
‘People usually ask us where we’re going on holiday and it’s always near the game reserves.
‘You never know what you’re going to find – like this.’
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