Let's be honest, most people come to sub-Saharan Africa in hopes of checking off the "Big Five." A good glass of wine in Cape Town is merely an added bonus. In case you're wondering, the Big Five is the term adopted by the Great White Hunters back in the day for the five supposedly most dangerous animals to hunt: elephants, lions, rhinos, cape buffalo, and leopard. My parents started at the Savannah Cheetah Foundation in the Free State, south of Jo'burg. It is an amazing facility dedicated to breeding and, hopefully in the near future, preparing cheetahs for re-introduction to the wild. Jeremy loves cheetahs because they are the athletes of the feline set...built for speed. Thanks to Pieter and his wife Estelle and their staff for all their work trying to fight for these animals. And thanks also to Pieter for being such a great host.
Cheetahs can go from 0 to 110 km/hr in 3 seconds. Try and do that in your BMW. Semi-retractable claws give them extra traction as they accelerate. They hunt largely alone and are much smaller than lions. As such, they are easily bullied off their prey and can be targetted by lions who want to rid their territory of competition.
Here I am getting a kiss from Nikita the Cheetah. About 5 minutes later I found out that not only am I allergic to horses, I am allergic to cheetahs as well. No pet cheetahs to keep Fuggles company.
Allergy or not, I really wanted to take this little one home.
Magnificent.
Cheetahs can go from 0 to 110 km/hr in 3 seconds. Try and do that in your BMW. Semi-retractable claws give them extra traction as they accelerate. They hunt largely alone and are much smaller than lions. As such, they are easily bullied off their prey and can be targetted by lions who want to rid their territory of competition. 
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