Usain Bolt, a World and Olympic sprint champion, adopted a cheetah in Kenya on Monday for about $13,700. He was at first reluctant to hold the orphaned cheetah, which he has named Lightning Bolt, but eventually he got over his fear and even fed the 3-month old some milk.

Bolt said that he has no plans to race the cheetah, but will be paying about $3,000 for its annual upkeep. He said:

“This is my first time in Africa, and of course in Kenya. I’ve had a lot of experiences, and a lot of animals have scared the crap out of me, but I am ok now.”

On Monday Bolt had some other close encounters with the animals of Africa. While riding in a car with CEO his sponsor, Puma AG, Jochen Zeitz in Naivasha, their vehicle came too close to a baby elephant and was shooed away by an adult. Bolt also got a bit of a scare when Kenyan Prime Minster Raila Odinga cuddled two lion cubs he had just adopted. He also nearly ran away when he was asked to pet a fully grown cheetah for a photo shoot with the PM. He had Zeitz stand in for him until he saw that the animal seemed harmless.

Bolt was in Nairobi from Friday through Monday. During his trip he launched the Zeitz Foundation with Jochen Zeitz, which will play an integral role in environmental conservation in Kenya. Bolt and Zeitz were also joined on the trip by Colin Jackson, a former 110-meter hurdles Olympic champion. The adoption of the cheetah cub who had been abandoned by its mother came at the end of is trip. Jackson also adopted an animal; he choose to adopt a 2-year-old eland, the largest of the antelope species.

When Bolt, 23, was given a certificate for his new "baby", he said:

"I love the hospitality of Kenya."

Kenya Wildlife Service boss Julius Kipngetich said that some of the adoption money would be used to protect endangered species in the country.

While the Prime Minister thanked Bolt and encouraged Kenyan athletes to follow suit, the Kenya Wildlife Service boss Julius Kipngetich said some of the adoption money would be used to protect the country’s endangered species.