Boy (10) describes how he attempted to fight off cheetah that attacked him
The handler reportedly ran to Aiden’s aid, jumping on the animal and beating it with a stick. The cheetah still did not release its hold.
Pietermaritzburg pupi,l Aiden Fry, has described how he tried to punch a cheetah on the nose when it attacked him and inflicted deep bite wounds whilst he was on a school excursion last week.
The incident happened at the KwaCheetah breeding centre at Nambiti Game Reserve near Elandslaagte last Thursday morning.
Aidan of Cowan School was with other pupils on an excursion of the area.
Aiden, who turned 10 today, told The Witness newspaper he is “much better but is still scared of cheetahs”.
He was admitted to hospital for surgery to patch up his severe wounds on Friday, and returned home on Monday.
The cheetah’s left paw gripped deep into the left side of Aiden’s chest while the right paw clamped into his back, pulling him closer to the fence.
The handler reportedly ran to Aiden’s aid, jumping on the animal and beating it with a stick. The cheetah still did not release its hold.
Eventually, the handler stuck his fingers up the cheetah’s nose, shocking the animal and breaking its hold on Aiden.
Clarke Smith of KwaCheetah said on Monday night the male cheetah managed to force its head and front leg through the fencing of the animals’ enclosure and grabbed at the boy’s backpack, scratching and biting at the pupil in the process.
“Safety precautions at KwaCheetah are rigorous. Children are not allowed into any of the enclosures, with only people over a certain height allowed in after a thorough briefing. None of the cheetahs at the project has displayed behaviour of this nature and it is contrary to their usual demeanour.”
He said the cheetah has been isolated for further observation.
