


In a dramatic incident caught on video, a two-year-old girl was lifted into the air by a giraffe during a safari ride at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas.
Paisley Toten was in the back of her family’s pickup truck feeding animals when the giraffe grabbed a bag of food along with Paisley’s shirt, lifting her into the air, reported KWTX.
“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, and I didn’t see her no more,” said Paisley’s father, Jason Toten.
The incident was witnessed by Lindsey Merriman, who was in a vehicle a few cars behind the Totens. She captured the moment on video — which has gone viral — showing the giraffe bending its neck down and grabbing the girl’s shirt as her mother screamed.
“My daughter was recording a giraffe eating out of people’s hands and dipping its head in sunroofs,” Ms. Merriman told Storyful. “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 bed of the truck.”
The video then shows the giraffe drop Paisley right into her mother’s arms. Mr. Toten said it was an honest mistake on the part of the giraffe, which immediately let go of Paisley when her mother yelled, “Hey!”
• Staff can be reached at 202-636-3000.