A toddler was picked up by a giraffe at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas, and the shocking moment was recorded by another visitor at the wildlife center. Paisley, 2, visited the wildlife center with her family on June 1, 2024. Paisley and her mom were feeding animals while riding in the back of a pickup truck.
Suddenly, instead of grabbing food, a giraffe at the wildlife center grabbed Paisley instead. “We stopped to feed the giraffes and I turned around to look out the back window, and I saw the giraffe kind of digging around right there, and then it just grabbed her," Paisley's dad, Jason Toten, told KWTX News10.
Jason explained that the giraffe clearly had no bad intentions. The giraffe wanted to grab the food Paisley had, he explained to the outlet, but accidentally ended up grabbing Paisley's shirt, which resulted in Paisley getting lifted up by the giraffe.
Jason told KWTX News10 that his "heart stopped" and his "stomach dropped" when the giraffe picked up his daughter. Luckily, no one was hurt. Jason said when Paisley's mom yelled "hey," the giraffe let go of Paisley. Paisley's mom caught her in her arms. "Her falling to me, me having to catch her like, it’s all in slow motion," Paisley's mom, Sierra, told Good Morning America.
The incident was quite scary for the parents, but they took Paisley to the wildlife center's gift shop, where she got a toy giraffe.
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Fossil Rim Wildlife Center shared a statement with ABC News. "Although an incident like this has never occurred here previously, we are taking immediate action to make sure it won't happen again," the wildlife center said in the statement.
"Effective immediately Fossil Rim will no longer be allowing guests to ride through the park in truck beds," the statement continued. "Fossil Rim offers a variety of experiences guided by knowledgeable staff so guests can continue to have up-close and memorable animal encounters, and support our mission to save threatened and endangered species."
