‘My heart stopped’: Fossil Rim giraffe accidentally picks up toddler during drive-thru safari

GLEN ROSE, Texas (KWTX) - A Valley Mills, Texas family suffered quite the scare at Fossil Rim on June 1 when a giraffe accidentally picked their toddler up out of the bed of their truck.

At Fossil Rim, visitors get to drive themselves along a path where exotic and endangered animals all roam free. Visitors are allowed to feed the animals.

Paisley Toten, 2, was riding in the back of a pickup truck with her mom, feeding all the animals, when one giraffe accidentally grabbed her shirt and lifted Paisley into the air.

Paisley’s father, Jason Toten, recalled the moment the giraffe picked up his daughter, which was caught on video by a car behind them.

“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,” he said.

According to Toten, it was a complete accident and they never broke any rules.

“Paisley was holding the bag and the giraffe went to go get the bag, not get her, but ended up getting her shirt too and picking her up,” the father said.

Thankfully, she didn’t get too high up before the giraffe dropped her.

“Soon as she went up her mom just yelled hey - like ‘HEY!’ - and the giraffe just kind of let go.”

When she fell her mom was right there to catch her so no one was hurt, but it was still a scary moment for everyone.

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

Afterwards, Toten said they even went to the gift shop and got Paisley a toy giraffe because “she deserved it.”

Other than that, the girl’s dad says it was a great trip to Fossil Rim and that they plan on going back to visit eventually.

At the time of the incident, Fossil Rim road rules allowed visitors to ride in the bed of a truck as long as there was an adult riding in the bed and everyone in the vehicle could fit safely inside in case of an emergency.

In the wake of the incident, Fossil Rim changed its rules and now visitors are required to stay in their vehicle with doors closed at all times.

The park’s website states:

“For visitor safety, all tailgates, van/car doors, and hatchbacks must be closed at all times and you must be seated within the vehicle – no sitting on window ledges or on top of the vehicle.

“Vehicles with ‘soft doors,’ ‘tube doors,’ or doors removed, such as Jeeps, will not be allowed to enter the park.

“Effective June 6th, 2024, guests are no longer permitted to ride in the bed of pickup trucks.”