Camera rolls while cheetah chews on it

DODOMA, Tanzania, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A photographer taking video of big cats in Tanzania said two cheetahs climbed onto his vehicle and one of them was recorded chewing on his video camera.

Boris von Schoenebeck, 47, a German-born photographer and videographer who lives in South Africa, said he took a trip to the Serengeti region of Tanzania to observe big cats and he ended up forming a bond with a pair of cheetahs who started making a habit of climbing on his vehicle.

Von Schoenebeck said he at one point "got a little bit close" to a cheetah on top of his vehicle and the animal "took a swipe at the GoPro, and then he proceeded to chew on it."

The photographer said the sight of the cheetahs on his vehicle attracted attention from other observers.

"Tourists would often see us and within five minutes we would have 20 vehicles around us and we would have to stop filming -- suddenly we would become the viewing point," he said.