This is the funny moment a curious baby hyena snuck up to a safari vehicle in Kruger National Park, South Africa on Sunday (July 24) and jumped against it, frightening the little hyena into scurrying back towards its sleeping family members.

It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park that we had the opportunity to view the most adorable hyena babies at their den. The hyena cubs were playing around near the entrance of the den. The adult hyenas at the den looked tired and was lying down resting in the sun. The hyena cubs looked busy and full of energy. While the smaller hyena cubs remained close to the den, one sub adult hyena cub looked a little more curious and started wandering off further from the den. I noticed the sub adult cub suddenly took an interest in our presence and casually walked right up to our safari vehicle. This little hyena was curious and wanted to find out what the large green object was, standing in front of its family home. The baby hyena gave our safari vehicle a few quick sniffs. Suddenly the young hyena’s behaviour caught me by surprise. The baby hyena stood up on its hind legs and went forward to jump against my door. I had no idea what this baby hyena was thinking but it turned out to be hilarious. As the baby hyena’s front paws hit the door, it got a huge fright, most likely from the sound it made and what it felt like touching the metal of the door. Like lightning, the little hyena turned around and ran straight back to his mother, looking all surprised and totally confused by what just happened. It was so funny to watch this surprising behaviour from the baby hyena and left them feeling satisfied with such an unexpected close wildlife encounter.