Viral video captures unbelievable encounter between tourist and lounging cheetah: 'My soul would've left my body'

A now-viral TikTok clip shared by Atlanta-based makeup artist Kyah Riley (@kyahrileymakeup) captured her frightening encounter with a cheetah during a recent trip to South Africa.

It wasn't precisely clear where in South Africa the footage was captured, but it appeared to be some sort of destination for visitors to observe and interact with wildlife.

@kyahrileymakeup Replying to @ig : @lexlailah ♬ original sound - Kyah Riley

At the beginning of the video, Riley cautiously came closer to a large cheetah. The cheetah was calmly reclining and looked deceptively like a large, docile housecat. 

As Riley approached the cheetah, a man outside of the frame is heard encouraging her, saying that the cheetah was "communicating" as she approached with a handful of food. For several tense moments, Riley crouched beside the lounging cheetah, slowly raising her cupped hand to its muzzle.

Then, the cheetah sprang into action, and chaos ensued as it darted away. Riley and another woman outside the frame shrieked, with one saying: "Just get me up out of here!"

Although the precise nature of the encounter remained hazy, Riley's experience with the cheetah served as a reminder that, above all else, wildlife is inherently wild and unpredictable. 

Visitors to national parks and other areas where animals congregate often get caught up in the excitement of the trip, forgetting that nature can be volatile. Briefly, a South African news outlet, reported on Riley's viral TikTok post and advised tourists to rely on local experts when interacting with wildlife.

Commenters on Riley's post vicariously experienced her terror as the footage circulated.

"Scared the hell out of me through the phone," one user admitted.

"My soul would've left my body," another confessed. Others humorously recounted their reactions to the footage.

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"The way I jumped out of bed … I almost died," another user commented. "Cause of death: TikTok, Time Of Death: 22h41pm."

Several users were unable to resist joking about why the cheetah abruptly bolted, joking that it "forgot to turn the stove off" or that "he remembered he left his phone unlocked."

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