Two cheetah cubs were recaptured after a half-hour romp down the N2 outside Cape Town yesterday, 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 when they escaped.

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 ran down the freeway towards Cape Town, said the programme's education officer, Dawn Glover.