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What not to do on your safari
Bet you didn't experience wildlife like this when you were on your last wildlife safari. Marlice van Vuuren is a Namibian animal conservationist and a woman very familiar with the ways of the African cheetah. She should know, her last 34 years were spent growing up around animals in Namibia, and she currently runs the N/a'an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary with her husband Rudie.
It's that sort of experience that's prepared her for this close interaction with wild cheetahs, no doubt mixed with a healthy dose of bravery and maybe a shred of craziness. Check out this video where van Vuuren gets off of her dirt bike and walks around among the wild cats, often advancing towards them and showing her dominance -- it's a pretty amazing show.
Unfortunately, the clip appears to be spoken in English, then dubbed in French, so here is a translation of what Marlice Van Der Merwe is saying about her encounter:
If I lower myself down to their level, they'll approach as we appear to be be of similar size ... I'm doing this to show how cowardly they are, not to tease them ... But also, to get a rush of adrenaline ... As soon as you turn your back on them, they attack ... As soon as you look them in the eyes, they're afraid of you ... If you run, you're prey. But, if you turn around, they stop ... I think they've had enough
Filed under: Africa, Namibia, Video, Transportation, Travel Health
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 12)
Ed Seary May 3rd 2011 8:57AM
Keep screwing with these wild animals, and sooner or later you wind up like the crocodile hunter. He never saw a tail he didn't want to pull.
Trisha May 3rd 2011 9:11AM
That is so amazing !!
Those cats sense and know she is kind and loves animals
john May 3rd 2011 9:04AM
brave and interesting girl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlice_van_Vuuren
Jane May 3rd 2011 9:07AM
I am not sure I believe this. And, there are probably guards with rifles if a cheetah would attempt to attack her. This was staged.
George Rutherford May 3rd 2011 9:11AM
It is normal cheetah behavior. That is also obviously a gathering of cheetahs on her reserve. That is too many cats for a normal coalition, which consists of siblings from a single litter usually. The video is also obviously enhanced with growling sounds which sound more like lions or some other big cats than like cheetahs. Natural behavior is fascinating, why does it have to be sensationalized like this.
missy May 3rd 2011 9:14AM
I would have been afaid to be to close to one never mind a large pack incrediable but never the less insaine !
??? May 3rd 2011 9:11AM
Wow you're an idiot!!!
john gage May 3rd 2011 9:28AM
Amazing. Not only is she an extreme hottie, but she has courage. Imagine the adventures you would have married to someone like that. Total risk-taker. Great body. Beautiful skin. Beautiful hair. Great smile. Great spirit..........Ok, I think I'm saying she's my dream woman :-) Beauty mate.............
n May 3rd 2011 9:16AM
Sorry, I don't think that we "HUMANS" have the right to get close to "ANY" wild animals.
What was she trying to prove ???
Why can't we just let them live?
Had she been MAULED?KILLED?EATEN?.... I think she would have received exactly what she deserved, and I would NOT have felt sorry for her "INTRUSIVE" behavior !
Leave wild animals alone! They have gotten along for hundreds of yrs. without the intrusion of conservation people.
W don't have to (so call) learn why, and how they live !!
rrs0426 May 3rd 2011 9:15AM
Cheetahs are just little, very slender and pretty frail, all you really need to do is yell and run at them and wave your arms, they're not like lions or leopards.
Jupiter27 May 3rd 2011 9:20AM
And this idiot female proves what?
brian May 3rd 2011 9:23AM
I would love to see her kitty
Linda May 3rd 2011 9:25AM
This woman has grown up around these animals and knows what she is doing. She shows them no fear, displays dominance when appropriate and gives them no reason to fear her. Amazing encounter and I'm totally jealous!!!
Rick May 3rd 2011 9:35AM
I remember a guy and his wife in the bush of Alaska that were absolutely sure that they had figured out how to commune with Brown bears. A movie was made about their abreviated lives by a movie producer aquaintance after the bears ate both of them.
Billy Ballsack May 3rd 2011 9:33AM
The woman rivals CHUCK NORRIS!!!
ripper May 3rd 2011 9:47AM
White folks are Wild you see a pack of wild animals i suggest you start a light jog or you will be lunch. lol
patr728 May 3rd 2011 9:38AM
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I swear I watched a Wild Kingdom program in which Cheetahs were profiled. During that show, it was indicated that Cheetahs are basically solitary animals unlike lions who live in prides. They get together when mating, then go on their ways. The cubs stay with the mother for quite a while, but can't imagine a female having a litter with as many animals as we see in the video.
Can't help but wonder as to the authenticity of what we are seeing. If real, I have mixed emotions of being both impressed, and upset that she would be so foolish as to put herself in the position of being severely injured or killed. We all know stories about animal lovers who have lost their lives after being attacked by one of their 'beloved' pets!
I am an animal lover who perfers domestic cats & dogs.
Dr. Glenn King May 3rd 2011 9:42AM
This discussion is based on ignorance. Cheetahs are not very aggressive animals (nothing like lions) and have often been made pets. I was in more danger (but still not much) when I approached baboon troops in Tanzania.
Scott May 3rd 2011 9:42AM
Personaly I question how real some of this is it looks real and probily is but it was partially set up notice how many diffrent camera angles there are and that there are never any views of the other camera men
lillie bishop May 3rd 2011 9:44AM
I guess you can do things like this when there are men with guns behind you.. Come on people who was filming it??