This is the moment a curious leopard got up close and personal with a tourist during a safari at the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya
The big wild cat hopped in the back seat of a jeep as it drove through the African plains.
Much to the shock of the man inside, who became intimate with the deadly cat in an instant.
It slowly wandered over to Mickey McCaldin, an Irish tourist until it was nearly within a foot of his face.
The tense moment was captured on camera by his friend David Horsey, for a moment, the cheetah looked like it was going to make itself comfortable.
David, 62 from Mombasa, Kenya, said: “I’ve been living in Kenya all my life and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“The cheetah just wasn’t scared of getting up close and personal. At first, Mickey was really relaxed but I think he was quite concerned it might try and sit in his lap.”
“Unlike a domestic cat, you certainly don’t want that.”
The leopard family is well known and the Safari group was tracking them.
One alarming observation made was that the family hadn’t had a kill for a few days, meaning they were hungry on the lookout for food.
“The family had been looking for a gazelle for a few days with no luck.”
“As we’d been around for a couple of days, I think they were used to the jeep so the mum jumped on top to get a better view.”
“I think the other cheetah tried to follow her up but went a different way.”
“Once it had got bored of Mickey it turned away and looked out of the vehicle for a few minutes. It just jumped out afterwards.”
David explained: “I think they were used to the jeep so the mum jumped on top to get a better view”
Once the cheetah got bored of staring at Mickey, it turned away and looked out of the vehicle before ultimately jumping out
“People always ask us where we’re going on holiday and it’s always around the game reserves.”
“You never know what you’re going to come across – just like this.”
