Giraffe's surprise encounter leaves Texas family in shock

A terrifying incident occurred during a safari trip in Texas. A giraffe suddenly stuck its head into a convertible car and grabbed a small child by the shirt. The parents were horrified.

A family with a two-year-old daughter went to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, central Texas. The terrifying situation was recorded on video and shared on CNN's social media.

“We stopped to feed the giraffes, and I turned around to look out the back window. That's when the giraffe bent down towards us. 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... Paisley was holding the bag, and the giraffe went to go get the bag, not her, but it ended up getting her shirt too and picked her up," Jason Toten, father of two-year-old Paisley, recounted to CNN.

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

In the recording, you can hear the girl's mother scream, which probably scared the giraffe. The animal then released the two-year-old straight into the woman's arms. Fortunately, Paisley was unharmed.

The parents decided to compensate for their daughter's harrowing experience. Immediately after the trip, they took her shopping. Afterward, they went to the gift shop and bought Parsley a plushie giraffe because "she deserved it."

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is known for breeding endangered species, or those that conservationists fear may soon become extinct. The facility is home to over a thousand animals from 50 species, including cheetahs, gnus, fallow deer, rhinos, turtles, wolves, bison, and giraffes.