Pay R46 to see the Cheetah up close and personal with a Cheetah Experience tour worth R100 (save 54%)

The word cheetah stems from the prehistoric human’s fear of this seemingly fierce creature – the belief was that he would ‘cheat’ you out of your food, then probably ‘eat’ you too and you’d probably go ‘aaaah!!’ However, with today’s Groupon you’ll see the cheetah for the beautiful, spectacular and lovable creature he really is – pay R69 to see cheetahs up close and personal (without getting eaten) with a Cheetah Experience tour.

The Cheetah Experience is a non-profit organisation dedicated to keeping our spotty friends around for years to come. The centre goes to extreme measures to preserve these majestic creatures so you have the opportunity to see them like you’ve never seen them on TV before. To ensure that every cheetah feels loved and right at home, the centre is practically a replica of their natural environment, giving the cheetahs ample space to play and practice for the kitty comrades.

This once in nine lifetimes experience is headed up by a tour guide with as much experience of the surroundings as of convincing these furry friends to keep their teeth where you can’t see them.  At first the idea of touching the 2,5 foot tail may seem like petting a Cape Cobra. However rest assured that each cheetah is fed a juicy steak beforehand hence in his eyes you’re nothing more than a bland broccoli floret.

The sanctuary boasts more than 32 species, shattering any illusion that a lion with acne and a big house cat in a polka dot jumpsuit can be called a cheetah. With the careful guidance of the handler, the cheetah becomes a tame house kitty, purring when you scratch his belly and rubbing his head against your hip. Chances are you’ll lose your heart (figuratively!) – even a dog person won’t be able to suppress an ‘aaaw’. However when considering watching Friends with a cheetah of up to kg on your lap, perhaps it’s best to rather adopt a kitten at the pound, or enquire about the adopt-a-cheetah-(without-taking-it-home) initiative.

Cheetah fact: In ancient times, African athletes would wear spotted running gear as they believed that this would increase their aerodynamics. However this illusion was soon shattered after their chief tested the gear in a race against a lion. Needless to say, the gear was not approved.