Getty A different giraffe.
A giraffe lifted a Texas toddler out of a car at a drive-through safari, a viral video shows.
The video shows the large giraffe reaching down into the vehicle and briefly lifting up the child, identified by ABC News as Paisley Toten, 2,
According to Today, the incident occurred at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, and the child was not injured.
“You want to feed the giraffe,” the mother said in video before the giraffe lifted the child up.
The Giraffe Was ‘Looking for a Snack,’ Reports Say
Giraffe reaches into a pickup truck and grabs a 2 year old at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas
The animal was “looking for a snack,” according to Today. The wildlife center told Today that an “incident like this” had never happened before at the site and stressed the center was “taking immediate action to make sure it won’t happen again.”
The girl and her family went to the gift shop where the girl got a toy giraffe after the encounter, Today reported, adding that the giraffe lifted the girl several feet into the air.
The wildlife center’s website warns, “Toss the pellets on the ground and away from your vehicle. Only giraffes can be fed by hand. This is for your safety, as animals besides giraffe can bite.”
The Girl’s Mother Spoke Out About Critics on Facebook
A family in Texas got a bit more than they bargained for on a wildlife tour when a hungry giraffe plucked a 2-year-old girl straight out of their pickup truck. (via SIERRA ROBERT/TMX)
Sierra Robert, the girl’s mom, has shared her thoughts on the incident on her Facebook page. “Let me make something very clear. Anything can happen anytime and anywhere,” she wrote. “Had we gone to the park that day instead (aka outside) she could have been bitten by a snake. Snakes are everywhere this time of year and yet noone would have called me a bad mom for taking my child to the park to play where there would potentially be snakes.”
The mother’s post says:
Had I taken my daughter to the another fun child establishment, on the way there we could have gotten in a wreck. Noone would have called me a bad mom or ridiculed me for putting her in the car because we could have potentially wrecked.
There are always dangers in the world, no matter where you go, or what you do. I refuse to teach my child to be afraid of her own shadow because she could possibly be hurt by something out of her control. I had personally never visited a safari so when I saw that you could ride in the bed of your truck, I assumed that it would be perfectly safe since the park allowed it.
With that being said we do not blame the park or the giraffe for what happened. And I still will NOT shelter my child from experiencing the world.I dont starve my child. I don’t beat my child. I dont neglect my child in any way. I simply wanted to experience something I thought would have been a fun memory with her and the unexpected happened.
Growing up I rode in the back of the truck all the time. Trick or treating in town. At the lake driving back to our cabin. Down to a friends house who didn’t live to far. And soooo many others have done the same. Im sure even some of you who are acting like your perfect have done something similar.
At the end of the day, god knows the kind of parents we are. Your opinions have no relevance to us, but I pray yall wake up and see that being bitter and scared of anything that could possibly hurt you is going to cause you to live a very boring life and you only have so many days on this earth. So god bless and I’ll be praying y’all someday grow into decent humans who don’t mom shame or belittle people to make you feel better about yourself.
God bless 🫶🏻