Although this may not be a nice thing to say, but the fact remains that some people are thickheaded. Around the world, there have been reports of how tourists in game parks and wildlife national reserves escape or get injured by animals not all because they take animals for granted.
Recently this website also carried a story of how a giraffe smashed a car window in fright. Now in another freakish incident that took place in Netherlands, a family of at least five including an infant was chased helter-skelter by cheetahs in a Dutch safari park.
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How such an incident even transpired is beyond comprehension because one fails to wonder why a family including a mom with an infant strapped to her would wander out of their car in an open wildlife safari park. Is that absurd or just plain stupidity.
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What could they have been thinking? The French family was forced to run for their lives after stepping out of their car to climb a small incline. In the video, you can see cheetahs coming from a distance and chasing them.
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The incident took place in Beekse Bergen African wildlife safari park which is a drive-through park. Visitors are strictly prohibited from venturing out of their vehicles. This family, on the other hand, had some bright ideas and decided to stop their car and take a stroll. They thought it was all clear but they did not realize they were being watched from afar.
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There were just one or two cheetahs in the distance and the family thought they would do a Steve Irwin on the Cheetahs and get up close for some dramatic photographs. It seems they lack the common sense to understand that you aren’t supposed to get up close to wild animals and the photographs you see in wildlife magazines are all because of high powered zoom lenses.
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Their actions are truly weird as the video shot by tourists in a second car show the family getting out of their car to look at a group of cheetahs. The man first moves out of the car and starts taking photographs.
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He is soon joined by a woman carrying an infant. She even seems to be putting two items into her boot. The other people in the second car are virtually in shock as they see two kids emerging out of the car. It is then that the cheetahs take notice.
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However, they get back in their car and drive further away to a second point before stopping again. This time, they again tread on dangerous waters by getting out of their car. This time the cheetahs were not taking it lying down.
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Usually such animals in these parks are well fed and as a result, have no need to hunt for food. But seeing the erratic behavior of the French Tourists, they might have thought that something fishy was going on in their territory.
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This time again they all get out of the car and climb the little incline. This is the moment you can see one cheetah come from behind the camera and circle the family from behind. It then chases the family and others join in.
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The family scared and terrified run back to their car the animals surround them getting ready no doubt for a kill as this was clearly a threat to their surroundings. But the family makes it back to the car just in time. The mother bravely keeps shooing the cheetahs.
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Nels de Wildt, the park manager considered them very lucky. The video shot by bystanders in the second car show how the cheetah was really fast in running up to them. That might well be the most frightful moment of their lives.
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It’s weird to figure out why a mom with an infant strapped to her would take such a chance which could have ended in tragedy. You can see her running back to her car and getting into the front.
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A spokesman for the park said 'We inform visitors about the risks in several languages throughout the park,' it seems some people just don’t get it until they really get it. Watch the video of the entire incident.