Filmmaker Boris von Schoenebeck had grown increasingly confident around two cheetahs who often climbed onto his jeep while filming in Tanzania’s Serengeti.
However, one day, he got a little too close for comfort, and the young male cheetah made sure he knew it with a playful swipe of its paw.
Fortunately for the 47-year-old German filmmaker, the cheetah’s gentle tap wasn’t the kind it would use on prey. When the animal bit down, it chose von Schoenebeck’s GoPro camera instead of him.
While documenting cheetahs for a film, von Schoenebeck and his assistant developed a rapport with a mature female and a young cheetah. Over time, these wild cats became regular visitors to their vehicles.
“Almost every day, we encountered these two cheetahs climbing onto our vehicle,” von Schoenebeck explained. “They used it as a vantage point for higher ground.”
As the weeks passed, von Schoenebeck became bolder, stepping further out of the jeep to get closer shots.
To his surprise, the cheetahs didn’t seem to mind. But when he ventured a little too near the male on the vehicle’s roof, the cheetah swiped at his GoPro and started chewing on it.
Having spent much of his life in South Africa, von Schoenebeck was no stranger to close encounters with wildlife.
The cheetahs’ growing comfort around him and his team eventually began drawing the attention of safari tourists.
“Tourists would often spot us, and within minutes, we’d be surrounded by up to 20 vehicles. We’d have to stop filming because we suddenly became the main attraction,” he recalled.
Despite the challenges, von Schoenebeck took the opportunity to bond with the cheetahs, which helped him get closer to these fast and elusive creatures. “It was incredible to be so near to them and for them to feel so at ease. Usually, we observe them from about 300 meters away.”
When the young male cheetah bit into his GoPro—just one of many cameras at his disposal—von Schoenebeck remained unfazed, though he did admit with a laugh, “We might need a new lens.”
The danger is nothing new for von Schoenebeck. His previous film, Black Mamba Kiss of Death, focused on the deadly black mamba, a snake capable of delivering enough venom in one bite to kill 15 people.
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