Video Shows Man Enter Elephant Cage with 2-Year-Old & Drops Her

This guy definitely ain't winning Dad of the Year -- a man brought his 2-year-old INSIDE a caged elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo... and fumbled the kid trying to make a run for it.

Check out this absolutely wild video of a father entering an enclosure that houses one of San Diego Zoo's African elephants, Shaba. The footage picks up with him already on dangerous ground with his toddler daughter in hand ... as shocked spectators look on.

He has his back turned to the elephant -- which is idiotic -- and before you know ... the beast is charging at him and his baby. Luckily, he notices in time and scrambles to get out -- but he almost forgets one important thing before fully exiting the area ... his damn kid!!!

Watch ... he actually drops the child on the ground, face-first, and it's left incredibly close to the elephant's feet -- which easily coulda crushed her. The dad picks up the baby in time, and makes a not-so-clean escape. All the while, the agitated elephant is roaring.

Now, if you're wondering if her pops -- aka Jose Manuel Navarrete -- had to pay a price for his stupid stunt ... the answer is a resounding yes. He was arrested by San Diego PD and booked on child endangerment charges -- Navarrete is being held on $100k bail.