Cheetah-hunted impala leaps into car

Tourists were left shocked after a desperate impala being chased by two cheetahs leapt into a car in order to escape the predators. The terrified animal appeared to be seconds away from death when an unexpected window of opportunity appeared -- quite literally.

The animal had been chased by the cheetah along with its herd when it realised it was the only one left behind. As the two ferocious animals appeared to have cornered the impala it leaped into a nearby tourist's car which happened to have its windows rolled down.

Samantha Pittendrigh, 20, happened to be filming the chase when the impala jumped through the passenger-side window of a Toyota in front of her. She said: “We started freaking out going crazy. We couldn't believe it -- we were absolutely dumbstruck.

“We watched the cheetah chasing the impala. We saw a few of them turn around in the bushes towards the road they were running from.’

“All of a sudden we saw the impala jump out of the bushes and then someone started screaming ‘it is in the car, it is in the car’.

“We heard a girl screaming in the car. The boy sitting outside the car filming looked a lot younger, so it must have been a family.

“People in other cars screamed ‘open the door, open the door’.” In the confusion, one of the passengers managed to open a door and the impala is seen just seconds later trotting across the road to freedom.

The cheetahs were just metres away but did not give chase. The footage was captured in Kruger National Park, South Africa where, according to park rules, you must stay inside your vehicle at all times. Pittendrigh, who has made several trips to the park, said she was stunned by the scene.