“My heart stopped,” said the 2-year-old girl’s dad
A family outing at a Texas wildlife center turned into a moment of sheer surprise when a giraffe decided to make an unexpected interaction.
Paisley Toten, a 2-year-old girl, visited the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, along with her parents, Jason Toten and Sierra Robert, on a pleasant Saturday, June 1. What was supposed to be a fun adventure took a surprising twist when a giraffe decided to pick up little Paisley.
“So we took a trip to Fossil Rim today, and it was a blast buttttt…. I would discourage you from riding in the back of the truck 😬,” Sierra shared on her Facebook post.
During their visit, the family drove along a path that allowed visitors to feed the animals from their vehicles. At that time, the Wildlife Center allowed guests to ride in the back of pickup trucks as long as an adult was present, and everyone stayed safely inside the vehicle.
As they drove, an unsuspecting giraffe reached out, grabbed Paisley by her shirt collar, and lifted her off the truck bed. The episode was recorded by another family in a nearby car.
Lindsay Merriman, who captured the footage, explained, “My daughter was recording a giraffe eating out of people’s hands and dipping its head into sunroofs. We were three cars behind a red truck and saw the giraffe accidentally grab a little girl’s shirt along with the food and lift her from the truck bed.”
Jason, Paisley’s dad, told CBS affiliate KWTX-TV that they had paused to feed the giraffes when the incident occurred. “Paisley was holding the bag, and the giraffe went to get the bag, but it ended up grabbing her shirt and picked her up,” Jason recounted. “As soon as she was lifted up, her mom yelled, ‘Hey!’ and the giraffe let go.”
“She wasn’t even scared,” he added while speaking to McClatchy News, “but I can’t say the same for myself. My heart stopped. It scared the hell out of me.”
Luckily, after the giraffe released its grip, Paisley fell safely into her mother’s arms, leaving both mother and daughter unharmed.
To help soothe any remaining nerves, Paisley’s parents bought her a toy giraffe from the gift shop. The family mentioned to KWTX-TV that they do plan to visit the park again despite the unexpected adventure.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for the wildlife center stated, “We were recently made aware of an event involving one of our giraffes this past weekend.”
“The incident was reported to us on Monday, June 3rd. The safety of our guests and animals is always of utmost importance to us. Although an incident like this has never happened here before, we are taking immediate steps to ensure it doesn’t occur again,” the spokesperson continued. “Effective immediately, Fossil Rim will no longer allow guests to ride through the park in the beds of trucks.”
The spokesperson added, “Fossil Rim offers a variety of experiences guided by knowledgeable staff, so guests can continue to have up-close and memorable animal encounters while supporting our mission to save threatened and endangered species.”
