VILNOHIRSK, Crimea – Tourists at the Taigan Safari Park got a thrill when a lion decided to join them in their car.
Heart-stopping video released by the park shows the big cat crawl into the front seat of the safari vehicle, forcing the driver, park owner Oleg Zubkov, to get out, according to news.com.au.
The 2-year-old lion, whose name is Filya, can be seen cuddling with the tourists as they take cellphone photos.
Close encounters with the predators is not uncommon at Taigan Safari Park, and videos posted to the park’s YouTube channel show strangers caressing the large felines.
Not all tourists visiting the park have had such friendly encounters, however. According to The Independent, a lion reportedly attacked a 46-year-old woman named Olga Solomina in July, dragging the woman across the ground after she tried to pose for a picture.
Zubkov later told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that Solomina had broken the rules by being drunk. She reportedly suffered only minor injuries and was treated at an area hospital.