A Texan father has recalled the terrifying moment a giraffe picked up his toddler during a safari drive-through earlier this week.
The family visited Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre where visitors can drive through the park to get close to wild animals such as cheetahs, deer, wolves, zebras and rhinos.
Paisley Toten, 2, was sitting in the back of her family's truck with her mother when the giraffe grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her into the air.
"I turned around to look out the back window and I saw the giraffe digging around right there and then it just grabbed her and I didn't see her no more," her father Jason told KWTX.
"My heart stopped — my stomach dropped."
The giraffe eventually let Paisley go and she was uninjured.
Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre issued a statement following the incident.
"We were recently made aware of an incident involving one of our giraffes that occurred this past weekend," the statement read.
"The safety of our guests and animals is always of utmost importance to us. Although an incident like this has never occurred here previously, we are taking immediate action to make sure it won't happen again."
The statement continued, "effective immediately Fossil Rim will no longer be allowing guests to ride through the park in truck beds".
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