Lion Nuzzles, Licks Tourists on Safari Park Ride

Some tourists at the Taigan Safari Park in Crimea got up close and personal with one of the park's residents, a 2-year-old lion named Filya.

Video shows the guide and owner of the park, Oleg Zubkov, bringing the open car to a stop and letting the big cat climb up inside to investigate. Filya started climbing over the tourists while nuzzling and licking them. A few used this encounter as a photo opportunity.

The park is known for giving its guests these kinds of experiences. Just weeks before this video was recorded, a woman was mauled and wounded by a different lion in the park. Zubkov defends the practice and said: "It was my mistake not to realize that she had had cognac before entering — possibly because she was scared. She came inside and started ruffling the lions's mane. Vitya the lion came close to her and pulled her away by her arm."