Earlier this month, at a drive-through safari park, a Texas family experienced a terrifying shock when a giraffe reached into their pickup truck, grabbed their 2-year-old daughter, and lifted her into the air.
The incident took place at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, where guests can feed animals from their cars as they drive down a track home to cheetahs, emus, zebras, and wildebeests.
“We stopped to feed the giraffes and I turned around to look out the back window,” Jason Toten stated. “That’s when I saw the giraffe kind of digging around, and then it just grabbed her.”
From the back of their pickup, the giraffe took his 2-year-old daughter Paisley by her shirt. Her mother, who was in the pickup bed with her, yelled at the giraffe as it lifted her a few feet into the air, causing it to release her.
The individuals in the car behind them recorded the incident on camera and forwarded it to the family.
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According to Toten, it seems to have been an accident and the family did not violate any park regulations, such as closing car doors, feeding animals with cups rather than your hands, and staying 50 feet away from gates.
“Paisley was holding the bag and the giraffe went to go get the bag, not get her, but ended up getting her shirt too and picking her up,” he stated.
“My heart stopped, my stomach dropped… it scared me,” he stated.
The family wasn’t deterred by the tragedy; Toten stated they will return. And after the bumpy journey, Paisley picked up a plush giraffe from the gift shop.
