Two cheetah cubs were recaptured after a half-hour romp down the N2 outside Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon, the Cheetah Outreach programme said.

The seven-month-old male and female cubs, Chip and Belle, were being taken back to their home at Spier near Stellenbosch after a routine visit to the vet.

They forced out pop-rivets on bars over a window of the vehicle's canopy and, as it was slowing for a turn, jumped out and headed down the freeway in the direction of Cape Town, said the programme's education officer Dawn Glover.

They were not difficult to find as members of the public and metro police phoned Spier to say where the animals were.

Chip was found lying near a fence on the R300 bridge, while "chirping" led to Belle hiding in the reeds a short distance away.

The youngsters were unharmed and were "very calm" on their return to Spier.

"The cubs are captive born and hand raised, used to people and at no staged posed any danger to the public," said Glover.

"We are delighted to have the two cubs safely back with us."

Sapa