AN American tourist was paralysed with fear when a fully grown cheetah jumped into his jeep while on safari in Tanzania.

Terrifying footage shows Britton Hayes sitting perfectly still with a look of silent terror on his face as the beast perches on the seat behind him.

2 This is the moment a cheetah got really up close and personal with a group on safari Credit: Reuters

Hayes, who can be seen in the video, said that the group was watching three cheetahs when one of the big cats spotted the vehicle and hopped onto the bonnet.

They were busy watching the animal as a second one decided to hop into the back, News.com.au reported.

"While we were all watching the cheetah in the front, one of the brothers had flanked around the back and hopped in back of the vehicle to try and sniff us and make sure that we weren’t a threat," Mr Hayes told Komo News.

The group's guide told them all to avoid eye contact with the animal and stay calm.

2 American tourist Britton Hayes, pictured, said the group were watching three cheetahs when one of them hopped into the vehicle Credit: Reuters

On the video, which was taken by Peter Heistein, the cheetah can be seen sniffing the inside of the car and clawing and nibbling at the head rest of an empty seat.

Mr Hayes said he tried to slow his breathing so the animal wouldn’t sense his fear.

"Honestly, it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life while it was happening.

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"I felt like I had to clear my mind of any thoughts because from everything you’re told about predators like that, they can sense fear and any sort of discomfort you’re feeling and they’ll react accordingly," said Mr Hayes.

Eventually the curious cat left and nobody was harmed.

"We just, everyone in the car just looked at each other, we paused for 10 seconds as the cheetahs walked away and we couldn’t believe that we got out of the situation, that it was real," he said.

A version of this story appeared on News.com.au