THE terrifying moment a toddler was snatched out of her family’s car by a giraffe has been captured.
This incident took place with Paisley, 2, during a drive-thru safari experience in Texas on June 1.
Paisley’s parents, Jason Toten and his fiancé Sierra Robert, visited the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, around 70 miles southwest of Dallas.
This center allows visitors to feed the wild animals as they drive through the park.
The couple, with their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, were traveling through in a pickup truck, as Paisley and her mum sat in the uncovered bed of the vehicle.
Jason, 24, and Sierra, 23, had told the toddler to feed the giraffe by putting out her hand that had some food on it.
Paisley was suddenly snatched out of the vehicle when the animal unexpectedly reached into the car and picked her up by her t-shirt.
The two-year-old was then lifted into the air as onlookers watched in disbelief.
This scary moment was captured on video by the family and another safari visitor behind them.
“My heart stopped,” Jason told What’s The Jam.
The father explained that the giraffe had not grabbed his daughter maliciously and it was rather an innocent mistake.
“When we got to the giraffe, they ate all the food we had and then went to take the bag of food and it accidentally grabbed Paisley’s shirt and picked her up,” he said.
Paisley’s mom recalled saying a firm “hey” to the animal as she reached out for her daughter.
The toddler was quickly dropped back into the truck when the giraffe realized its mistake and the mum swiftly grabbed her daughter to pull her back down.
Paisley was not harmed during the ordeal.
The brave toddler was rather unphased by the incident, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
My heart stopped.”
Jason Toten
“I guess it startled the giraffe,” Jason said.
“She wasn’t even scared,” he added.
“As soon as her mom caught her, she went ‘oh.'”
“It scared me but after it was all over, we realized everyone was safe and unharmed, and we laughed about it,” Jason said.
Her parents revealed that the toddler had surprisingly not been left shaken by the incident even after they were done with their safari tour.
“All Paisley wanted after that was a toy giraffe and giraffe T-shirt from the gift shop, so we got them for her and we will definitely be revisiting in the future!” he added.