Five dangerous close encounters of the furred kind - videos

21 May 2015 - 13:43 By Daily Planet
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A cheetah yawns.
A cheetah yawns.
Image: Tambako The Jaguar/ Flickr

Animals can be so adorable. Until they're not. These five videos show how dangerous wild animals can be.

1. The lion that can open a car door

We're well aware that this sounds like that scene in Jurassic Park where a velociraptor opens a door. But this is the real deal. A family on safari gets the fright of their lives when a lion walks up to their car, peers inside and then proceeds to open a door... with his teeth.

2. The mountain biker who collides with a buck

Okay, so "dangerous" isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about buck, but this could have ended badly. In 2011, mountain biker Evan van der Spuy was knocked off his bike when a red hartebeest collided with him - right after his teammate had warned him to watch out for the buck.

3. The elephant vs the Volkswagen

A VW Polo is driving in the Kruger National Park when an elephant comes into the picture. Instead of, we don’t know, stopping and moving out of the way, the driver gets too close, with nearly disastrous consequences. We love the part in the video where someone who is recording says, "You gon’ die". Close enough. This is what the Polo looked like after the elephant was done with it:

4. The bear encounter that could have gone terribly wrong

Bears are cute – if they’re stuffed toys on your bed. Real-life bears, not so much. Watch tourists run as slowly as they can when a family of black bears comes after them. Luckily no one is injured. But one biologist says it was not an attack: the mother bear was simply clearing the path for her cubs. Whatever. We’re running anyway.  

5. Cheetah attacks a local TV presenter

TV presenter Michelle Garforth-Venter is filming an inset on cheetahs, even calling them "magnificent creatures" (which they are). While she is bonding with one cheetah, another sneaks up behind her. At first the encounter seems harmless - until the cheetah starts to bite. Yikes.

Compiled by Daily Planet

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