Never thought I’d be head butted by a cheetah, but well, I was…Now back in Namibia, we camped in a place near Etosha National Park, that is known for saving cheetahs from the hands of the farmers (they get killed for killing the cattle) and released back into a semi-wild setting where they are given hunks of meat but for the most part live as they would in the wild. They actually have two pens, one with three “tame” cheetahs and one with 18 wild cheetahs. Our visit to the tame cheetahs involved staying at least 2 meters away from them unless one of the family/owners was present and then we could pet them. The cheetahs seemed to know the drill and as soon as we entered the cage, which was actually just the fenced in area of the family’s front yard (a large one) they came purring on up and we crowded around. Only two showed up and apparently the third felt a little left out as he too decided to make his entrance by coming straight into the back of my legs, pushing them apart and walking right through. I think I was too in shock to really realize that I had a cheetah walking through my legs – it was just like an every day cat going for a stroll – well, one that was about 3 feet in height and with very sharp teeth. He didn’t seem to take much notice at all and tossed himself down next to the other two and began licking his owner’s hands. They did get a bit snappy toward the end after having several of us pet them and a few teeth were barred but no blood drawn. Someone had the bright idea of asking if the owners thought any of the three would kill them and the answer came back, “One, for sure would not, but the other two…who knows!” Glad we were out of the cage at that point.
Of course we also saw the wild cheetahs and did a feeding with them and they were spectacular. They make the strangest sound, like a cross between a purr and a bird trill, high and chirpy but with a deep throaty undertone. When we first entered the park, there was nothing and we were all looking out into the brush hoping for the first sign and before we knew it, they were coming out of every corner, loads of them walking down the road following the truck and coming for their nightly meal. Not sure what delicacies were tossed at them but they seemed to enjoy whatever it was and immediately jumped in. A few, probably the ones that ate well the night before, just paced around the truck and looked at us. Maybe they weren’t actually full but trying to figure out how to get us out of the truck for a fun little chase and feast. They still have all their instincts and are by no means tame as they had taken down and killed a Kudu the night before that had wandered a little too close to the fence – took down the fence too! In some ways, I think it is sad that they are not in the wild, but if they had stayed in the wild, they would have been dead already
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