Cheetah falls through the sunroof into safari car - scares the xxxx out of passengers

• The cheetah jumped onto the Land Rover as it tours the Maasai Mara 
• Tourists looked on as the animal walked across the vehicle's roll cage 
• The cheetah slipped and almost fell into the packed vehicle's cabin
• After scrambling to safety, the cheetah jumped onto the grass to escape 

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 21 May 2015 

These are the amazing scenes when a cheetah almost falls into a Land Rover carrying tourists in the Maasai Mara after it clambers aboard the four-wheel-drive vehicle. The big cat jumped up onto the vehicle's roll cage where it tried to balance precariously on the structure. The tourists filmed and photographed the cat as it walked across the roll bar on the open-topped vehicle, when it suddenly lost its balance and almost fell into the cabin.

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The cheetah jumped on board the Land Rover and clambered onto the vehicle's roll cage 

Tourists filmed the cheetah as it walked above them on the roll bar of the open-topped Land Rover 

But moments later, the animal slipped and almost fell into the cabin on top of the shocked tourists 

Amir Ahmed, a 69-year-old airline pilot from Dubai, was touring the famous reserve with friends and parked nearby to watch the big cats play. 

After the initial shock - and realising they weren't in any danger - Ahmed and his friends were able to laugh. He said: 'It was very unexpected. I was actually trapped at the end of the land rover, with nowhere to go but to duck down. He was virtually a foot away from me. It was quite an amazing picture - he was so close to me. There wasn't much time to think about the danger. Having grown up in Kenya and known animals and lived around them, I've seen plenty of wild animals.

Clumsy cat! Cheetah gets a fright when it falls into safari Jeep

 

The cheetah managed to hold onto the padded roll bar with its front paws and scrambled out of the cabin

The cheetahs are used to Land Rovers touring through the Maasai Mara and often jump on the vehicles

The tourists realised that the animal had no intention of harming them during the amazing incident

'As long as you respect the animals and don't threaten them they're quite harmless. The only time when they would become vicious and attack them is if you threaten them. It was quite a scary moment because if there was a time he was going to attack or panic that would be it.'

Cheetahs in the Maasai Mara are familiar with jeeps and tourists. They often climb onto the roof for a better vantage point or to relax in the sun. 

After scrambling free of the vehicle, the cheetah, right, jumped down onto the grass and ran to a tree stump

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