Meet Woman Who Up Close Personal with African's Cheetah and Elephant

CAPE TOWN - One woman has documented the animals that she photographed over the course of a year by getting into the frame with them.

Shannon Benson - who markets herself as 'Shannon Wild' - (36) from South Africa, has walked hand in trunk with an elephant and even been licked by a leopard, all while she was out on a safari.

As reported by Daily Mail, the brilliant photos show just how up close and personal some of her subjects were willing to get when allowed to approach, although some of the smaller critters caused chaos when climbing all over her camera equipment.

Shannon says she keeps calm in most situations during her meetings with the wild animals. She has admitted that she has been chased by an elephant during her job as a wildlife photographer, but this one is happy letting her touch its trunk

"I'm so passionate about animals and I like to get photos of as many as possible. I have plenty of scars and stories from over the years when I've been working with wildlife and the animals have gone a bit too far. I've been bitten in the face by a dog, charged by an elephants, lions and buffalo, bitten countless times by snakes and lizards, and mauled by a cheetah, but it doesn't discourage me," Shannon said.

"The way I look at it though is, you shouldn't be a chef if you don't ever want to get a burn from hot food and wildlife photography is the same. I'm excited by every encounter that I have am surprisingly calm in most situations, even when tracking a lion on foot," she added.

She says her passion for the animals leads her to try and get as many different types of photos as possible.

"But there are always potential hazards with animals and I engage with them all - not just the cute and fluffy ones. But even the bad stories remind me how exciting my job is and how lucky I am to have it," she concluded.