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Mother hits back at critics saying she refuses to teach her daughter fear after terrifying moment giraffe hauled toddler from family's truck at a Texas wildlife park
The mother of a two-year-old girl who got plucked from their family truck by a giraffe during a visit to a Texas wildlife park has hit back at the critics who are calling her a 'bad mom'.
Sierra Robert, 23, faced an influx of hateful comments after posting a video of the close call to Facebook, with viewers questioning why her daughter was in the back of the truck and accusing Sierra of being responsible for what followed.
The mother has defended herself by saying she 'refuses' to teach her child to be 'afraid of her own shadow' as 'anything can happen anytime and anywhere' and she 'does not blame the park or the giraffe for what happened'.
Sierra, her fiancé Jason Toten, 24, and their children, were driving through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center on Saturday when the now-viral incident occured.
Shortly after picking up Paisley, the animal soon realised its mistake and dropped the tot, uninjured, back into the car - but as the video racked up views online, the parents have faced more backlash from concerned viewers and the park has since changed its policy regarding open-back vehicles.
The mother of a two-year-old girl who got plucked from their family truck by a giraffe during a visit to a Texas wildlife park has hit back at the critics calling her a 'bad mom'
Paisley and her mother Sierra were sitting in the back of the truck to admire the animals passing and get a close-up look at the hungry wildlife, when the giraffe walked up to the vehicle, taking a particular liking to the toddler - and within an instant, the two-year-old girl was lifted into the air.
Fossil Rim announced a new policy on Wednesday that guests will no longer be allowed to ride in the bed of pick-up trucks, reports NDC DFW.
One social media comment on Sierra's video reads: 'Please for the love of God, do not have any more children! Your level of stupidity is unbelievable!'
Another said: 'Should not have been in bed of truck - I thought they were supposed to be inside the vehicle?'
Meanwhile, a third quipped: 'Why are you in the safari in the back of a vehicle, no roof or protection with wild animals roaming freely? Glad the kid is well, the giraffe must have eaten your brain'.
Addressing the hate she's received, Sierra took to Facebook today to defend herself against the trolls.
In a lengthy social media statement, the mother wrote: 'Let me make something very clear. Anything can happen anytime and anywhere.
'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 no one would have called me a bad mom for taking my child to the park to play where there would potentially be snakes.
'Had I taken my daughter to another fun child establishment, on the way there we could have gotten in a wreck. No one would have called me a bad mom or ridiculed me for putting her in the car because we could have potentially wrecked.'
She continued: '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.'
A Texas family got more than they bargained for when their drive-thru safari experience took a turn
Commenting on the hate she's received, Sierra took to Facebook today to defend herself against the trolls
In her social media post, she clarified that the family do not blame the park or the giraffe
Despite being the world's tallest mammals, giraffes are usually not aggressive. However, females can be hostile sometimes when protecting their calves.
The mother added that she 'does not blame the park or the giraffe for what happened' and insists she will 'not shelter' her child from 'experiencing the world'.
She explained that growing up, she would always ride in the back of her family truck and insisted that 'so many others have done the same'.
Sierra concluded the post by quipping: 'At the end of the day, God knows the kind of parents we are.
'Your opinions have no relevance to us, but I pray y'all 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.'
Recalling the incident with the giraffe, Paisley's father Jason explained: 'We were having a little family day, just getting out of the house.
'I looked out the back window and I saw the giraffe … and then up she went,' Jason said. 'My heart stopped, it scared the hell out of me.'
'It ended up getting her shirt and lifting her out of the truck,' he said.
Jason said he understands the situation was a complete accident and that the giraffe intended to grab the food bag out of Paisley's hands, which she refused to let go of
Despite being the world's tallest mammals, giraffes are usually not aggressive (stock image)
The car behind the truck with Jason and his family also took a video, where you can see the giraffe accidentally use its teeth to grab the toddler's shirt, lifting her into the air.
But the fear subsided quickly as all it took for the giraffe to let go of the toddler's shirt was a stern 'hey' from Sierra, who reacted immediately and grabbed her back from the air.
The animal dropped the little girl, unharmed, back into the car - and Paisley was the least concerned of everyone.
The father said he understands the situation was a complete accident and that the giraffe intended to grab the food bag out of Paisley's hands, which she refused to let go of.
Similar to a petting zoo, Fossil Rim allows visitors to feed some animals with food they provide.
Jason added: 'It scared me but after it was all over, we realised everyone was safe and unharmed, and we laughed about it.'
After the incident, the family took Paisley to the gift shop, where all she wanted was a plush of her new favorite animal.
'We go in there and all she wanted was a giraffe toy and a giraffe T-shirt,' Jason said. 'We ended up getting her both, we figured she deserved it.'
Jason said their family isn't deterred from coming back to Fossil Rim and they will still ride in the back of the truck 'because that's an experience in itself' - however, this comment was made before the rule was reportedly changed.