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  Boy, 9, Comes Face to Face With Escaped Cheetah in his Back Garden

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Toby Taylor, 9, pictured with his bike and part chewed saddle after his narrow escape from a cheetah that broke into his back garden

Boy, 9, Comes Face to Face With Escaped Cheetah in his Back Garden

Daily Mail: 29th October 2008

The Daily Mail
   
A nine-year-old boy was lucky to be alive today after coming face-to-face with an escaped CHEETAH - in his back garden.
Terrified Toby Taylor was playing on his bike when he spotted the 6ft-long beast - the fastest animal on earth capable of hitting speeds of 70mph - standing just 15ft away. He dropped his bike and fled to the safety of his house just seconds before the big cat pounced on the machine and ripped the seat and tyres to shreds.
Toby and his mother Jules, 41, cowered inside for 20 minutes until keepers from Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire arrived to re-capture the animal.
They believe the cat, called Akea, had escaped through faulty electric fencing and was prowling the area for food.
According to officials at Hamerton Zoo, Akea is as tame as a 'pet dog' and did not pose a threat to human life.
But yesterday traumatised Toby, from Hamerton, said: 'I panicked. It looked massive and really scary.
'I thought it would attack me. I ran as fast as I could.'
Housewife Jules added: 'I started to have a go at Toby for slamming the door when he ran up to me shouting 'mummy, there's a cheetah in the garden'.
'I thought he was pulling my leg but he was white, shaking and shrill.
'We peered out of the kitchen window and there it was, sitting bang in the middle of our lawn, looking towards the house.
'Then it got hold of Toby's bike and started ripping it to bits. I was in a blind panic and didn't know what to do so I phoned 999.'
The terrifying incident took place at around 2.30pm last Friday when Akea escaped from Hamerton Zoo, a conservation sanctuary for big cats, reptiles and birds.
Toby had been waiting to go for an afternoon bike ride with his mum, when the spotted cat appeared from between the bushes at their farmhouse and began stalking towards him. Without thinking, he dropped his bike to the floor and fled towards the safety of his front door, 40ft away.
Within seconds of reaching the house, the three-year-old creature attacked his bicycle - sinking its claws into the tyres and taking a chunk out of the stuffed leather seat.
Toby's devoted black labrador Otto loyally guarded the front door while Toby's mum dialled 999.
Emergency operators informed the zoo and Akea's handlers arrived on the scene 20 minutes later. They took a further 20 minutes to capture the animal, which even tried to bite its owners.
It was finally harnessed and locked in the family's horse stables until a crate arrived to transport it back to its cage.
Jules said: 'I figured it must've escaped from the next door zoo but I was in too much of a state to find their phone number.
'When the handlers arrived the cheetah tried to bite and scratch them.'
Cambridgeshire Police attended to scene to find the handlers harnessing the animal.
A spokeswoman added: 'We got a call at 2.30pm on Friday to say a cheetah was on the lose in Hamerton. We immediately called the zoo and officers attended the scene.
But by the time they got there the zoo keepers had the matter under control.'
Andrew Swales, from Hamerton Zoo, said Akea was hand-reared and that he was only 'playing' with the bicycle. He said: 'Akea was born at the park, is completely tame and was hand-reared from a tiny baby by our head keeper.
'Akea was away for a few minutes, visited our next-door neighbour, had his harness and lead put on and returned home.
'We assume that it was a faulty electric fencing unit that caused the problem. This has already been replaced.
'When our keepers arrived in our neighbour's garden, Akea was happily playing with a bicycle, which must have reminded him of one of his toys.
'He wouldn't pose any danger, and his reaction to strangers would be the same as a pet dog - either a friendly greeting or a guarded retreat.'
But Jules says the terrifying experience has given Toby nightmares. Toby's brother Oliver, 10, and his father Mark, 46, a surveyor, were not at home at the time of the attack. She added: 'We're used to exotic animals - we have a pet snake. But you just don't expect to see a cheetah in your garden. At the time we had no idea it had been hand reared. It was very scary.
'You try to protect your children from so much but you could never anticipate a cheetah roaming your land.'
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world, hitting a top speed of 70 to 75mph for short distances and an average of 45mph over a typical three mile chase.
An adult cheetah can weigh up to 64kg, stand 32 inches tall and measure over six feet long.
They tend to stalk their prey to within 50 yards before attacking. Full sprints last between 20 seconds and rarely exceed a full minute.
Once it catches an animal it suffocates it by clamping its windpipe for up to five minutes. In 1900 there were only about 100,000 cheetah worldwide. Present estimates place their number at 10,000 to 15,000 with one tenth living in captivity.
Namibia has the largest population of wild cheetah - about 2,500 specimens.

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.

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