Giraffe’s nibble turns into airborne safari adventure for Texas toddler

GLEN ROSE, Texas — A Texas family got a scare when a giraffe nibble turned a 2-year-old’s safari trip into an aerial adventure.

Paisley Toten lay in the back of a pickup truck on June 1 as her family drove through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where visitors can see exotic animals such as zebras, giraffes and sable antelopes, and feed some of them from their cars.

The family had stopped to feed a giraffe when it grabbed Paisley’s shirt with its beak and lifted her several feet. Paisley’s mother lay with her in the pickup bed and screamed, prompting the giraffe to drop the toddler into her arms unharmed. Video of the encounter, taken from the car behind, went viral. The girl’s family also made their own video.

“Paisley was holding the bag and the giraffe went to get the bag but didn’t pick her up, but ended up grabbing her shirt and picking her up,” Jason Toten, the girl’s father, told television station KWTX.

“My heart stopped, my stomach dropped… it scared me,” Toten said.

The family then took the girl to the store and bought her a toy giraffe.

Park rules allowed driving in a flatbed during the family’s visit, as long as an adult was driving with children. The park changed safety rules Thursday so everyone must stay in their vehicle with the doors closed.