May Day at the Ivo Wildlife Park, an endearing meet and greet experience

For the tourists who chose to spend May Day at the Ivo Wildlife Park in Harghita County, this was an occasion for a fresh experience and close interaction with the animals seen roaming in their natural habitat, and also for admiring the pristine landscapes.

Photos by Gina STEFAN / AGERPRES

The Ivo Wildlife Park, located near the Zetea commune, at the foot of the Harghita Mountains, is a fenced, almost 400-hectare swathe of forest and pastures, which is home to about 400 red deer, fallow deer, roe deer and mouflon.

But then there's also Dezso, the wild boar who welcomed the group of Bucharesters arrived Friday morning at Ivo the way he always does with guests, presenting them with tufts of grass.

Dezso, the people-friendly wild boar

The park's guide, Eva Nagy says that almost every time the visitors approach his enclosure, Dezso emerges with tufts of grass in his mouth, which he leaves near the fence, and that he then "accompanies" his guests a few meters, until they pursue further on the trail.

After this amazing encounter, the day-trippers had yet another special experience, as they could admire at close range a herd of red deer. After stopping for a few moments "for a photo shoot", the deer stepped into the forest and watched the humans from the distance. The only ones to linger around the group and accompany the tourists all along their route across the park were Juliska and Mancsi, two female red deer who were hand reared and are extremely gentle and friendly.

Juliska is adorable, as she accompanies the group of tourists, mingles with them, "communicates" with them and seeks to permanently be near the guide whom she perceives as a herd leader she would like to replace.

"Juliska is a very quirky...