Joe Kahlo
This is the exhilarating moment a wild cheetah approaches a photographer and begins to lick his toes.
Kim Wolhuter, the daring photographer captured the moment on camera in the Mashtu Game Reserve in Botswana.
The curious female cheetah cub left her family to come over and check out his foot in more detail.
At one point, the curious cat even had a nibble, which prompted Kim to back away before things got messy.
Kim spent six weeks filming the cheetah family and slowly built a level of trust with the mother and her cubs.
He said: “The mum and her cubs were close by and I had spent some time filming them. The female cub was a lot more curious than her brothers, so approached me as I was lying on the ground taking shots.”
“When she got really close to me and near to my foot, I thought she was going to swat it, but instead she had a lick and a nibble.”
“It hurt slightly, so I pulled my foot away, but she seemed to know to nibble gently. After all, a good bite would have gotten a very bad reaction from me.”
“She seemed to be testing me like a domestic cat would do with its owner. At no stage was I concerned, there was nothing threatening in her behaviour.”
“She was curious and trusting, so it was important that I conveyed the same feelings and be as confident as possible in what I was doing.”
