This wild encounter from over the weekend was captured on camera, showing the moment little Paisley got lifted up and dropped by a hungry giraffe while she and her family were visiting the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, TX ... cruising through in their truck.

Paisley was riding in the truck bed with her mom when her dad stopped so they could feed a giraffe ... and that's when the giant animal reached down for a bag of food the kid was holding, grabbing hold of her shirt.

The giraffe lifted Paisley up in the air with its mouth, frightening the girl's parents. Fortunately, all it took to get the giraffe to let loose was Paisley's mom shouting, "Hey!"

Paisley fell back into her mother's arms and somehow wasn't harmed by the animal encounter ... though her daddy told KWTX, "My heart stopped, my stomach dropped … it scared me."

Exotic and endangered animals roam free at this facility BTW -- that's why there's a bunch of animals out and about without any barriers -- and visitors can drive down a path and feed the critters. Obviously, things can get a little hairy though ... like it did here.

Paisley was holding the bag of food down by her chest when she got snatched ... and FRWC says it's best to hold food pellets above your head when trying to feed giraffes ... probably for this very reason.

Despite the scary moment on the trail, Paisley's parents say they will bring her back again. After their safari ended, Paisley's parents bought her a giraffe stuffed animal at the gift shop.