BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A South African woman shares her beds with her eleven cat friends, four grown cheetahs, three white lions, two tigers and two golden lions, according to media reports Monday.

    Forty-six-year-old Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen bought her first cheetah, Fiela, in 2006, after realizing the big cats were in trouble and heading for extinction with only 1,000 left in Africa.

    All her friends are truly part of the family and are allowed to roam freely in her house, climb curtains and poke their heads around the kitchen.

    Riana set up the not-for-profit Fiela Funds Cheetah Breeding Project in South Africa to ensure the long-term survival of the cheetah and their ecosystem.

    The project spreads over a hectare of land and visitors can meet Fiela and the other cats and even have their pictures taken.

    (Agencies)