While exploring, Hayes and his group, who were with Grand Ruaha Safari, saw three cheetah brothers hunting. One cheetah became very curious about their vehicle.
“We noticed the cheetahs were interested in the vehicle,” Hayes told KOMO News. “But it was too late to drive away because you don’t want to scare the animals.”
As the group watched a cheetah on the hood of their vehicle, another cheetah suddenly jumped inside, right behind Hayes.
“This is not a common thing,” Hayes said, noting the surprise of the situation.
“One of the cheetahs jumped onto the hood, so we were all focused on it,” Hayes explained. “While we watched that cheetah, another one sneaked into the back of the vehicle to check us out and see if we were a threat.”
Hayes’ first reaction was to panic, but their safari guide kept everyone calm. Another tourist, Peter Heistein, filmed the whole incident on his phone.
The guide told Hayes to breathe slowly, avoid eye contact, and stay still so the cheetah could sniff around and not feel threatened. Staying calm was key to showing the animal they were not dangerous.
“Honestly, it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I had to clear my mind because predators can sense fear and discomfort and react to it,” Hayes said. “I wanted to stay as calm and still as possible to avoid any problems.”
Hayes didn’t tell his mother, Elisa Jaffe, a news anchor at Seattle’s KOMO news station, about the incident until he got home safely.
“I was worried she might panic and make me come home. So I thought it was best not to worry her when she couldn’t do anything about it from so far away,” he said.
When the cheetah finally left, the group felt a huge relief.
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“We all just looked at each other, paused for 10 seconds as the cheetahs walked away, and couldn’t believe we got out of the situation safely,” Hayes said.
Afterwards, the group laughed as the tension eased. It was a very close call, and it was amazing how calm Hayes stayed throughout the encounter.