Passengers on a safari in Tanzania had a tense close encounter with a curious cheetah as it leapt onto their vehicle.

Footage from May 1 shows the big cat standing on the vehicle's bonnet as it peers through the windscreen at the passengers.

The cheetah then climbs onto the roof and appears as if it is attempting to enter through the car's open sunroof.

The filmer told Newsflare: "During a recent first-time visit to the Serengeti National Park with a group of friends, we were totally overwhelmed by a scary yet funny close encounter with a cheetah getting comfortable on our safari vehicle.

"To our amazement, we saw one cheetah climbing onto the vehicle in front of us with our other friends in it. We couldn’t believe what we saw. Thinking that we are witnessing the ultimate safari experience, the second cheetah suddenly appeared from the side of our vehicle and jumped onto the hood of our safari vehicle.

"This was absolutely one total crazy experience and one can tell just by listening to the colourful expressions and language used during the whole ordeal.

"The cheetah quickly realised that this vehicle was way too noisy and decided to jump off and join the rest. We had an absolute laugh afterwards, still shaking from an intense adrenalin rush.

"Due to the fact that the Serengeti hardly has any large trees to provide shade for animals during the heat of the day, the cheetahs in this part of the park became opportunistic by seeing the little canopy sticking out at the top of the safari vehicle’s sunroof as the only protection against the harsh African sun. It is just incredible that these animals are willingly getting so close to safari-goers just to find a little shade."

During a recent first time visit to the Serengeti National Park with a group of friends, we were totally overwhelmed by a scary yet funny close encounter with a cheetah getting comfortable on our safari vehicle.
The Serengeti has vast open plains and during your safari you are able to see animals from incredible distances. Time spend in a safari vehicle in the park are also very long, sometimes extending into a full day outing. It was already late morning when we saw three cheetahs in the distance. Us four friends were split up into two per vehicle. I shared the vehicle with Merian and our guide named Rafiki. It was not long before the three cheetahs casually started walking towards the two vehicles. To our amazement we saw one cheetah climbing onto the vehicle in front of us with our other friends in it. We couldn’t believe what we saw. Thinking that we are witnessing the ultimate safari experience, the second cheetah suddenly appeared from the side of our vehicle and jumped onto the hood of our safari vehicle. This was absolutely one total crazy experience and one can tell just by listening to the colourful expressions and language used during the whole ordeal. Rafiki our guide was still trying to explain there was no reason to worry, but it just got too much for Merian. The next thing Merian climbed over to the front seat, really concerned with the fact that there was a cheetah now already on the roof and peeking through the open sunroof. The atmosphere in the vehicle was a cocktail mix of tense and really funny moments. The cheetah quickly realised that this vehicle was way too noisy and decided to jump of and joined the rest. We had an absolute laugh afterwards, still shaking from an intense adrenalin rush.
Due to the fact that the Serengeti hardly has any large trees to provide shade for animals during the heat of the day, the cheetahs in this part of the park became opportunistic by seeing the little canopy sticking out at the top of the safari vehicle’s sunroof as the only protection against the harsh African sun. It is just incredible that these animals are willingly getting so close to safari goers just to find a little shade.