Gracie's Texas Adventure Ends Safely
Gracie the Giraffe Located Safe After Week-Long Texas Hill Country Search
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Gracie was found at about 6:45 a.m. Friday on a neighboring property about four miles south of Cedar Hollow Ranch near Regan Wells, during an aerial search aided by Concho Aviation and pilot Jeff Hill.
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Real County Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson said, "We found her. She's fat and happy," and noted Gracie's attitude as a "catch me if you can".
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Gracie is estimated to be between 3.5 and 4 years old and stands about 10 to 11 feet tall.
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Authorities say Gracie was last seen on Monday via a game camera west of Leakey, roaming through rugged Hill Country, and had traveled roughly three miles from where she escaped.
Gracie the giraffe is safe. After roughly 14 days roaming the rugged Texas Hill Country, the 11-foot-tall reticulated giraffe was spotted at 6:45 a.m. Friday on a neighboring property about four miles south of Cedar Hollow Ranch near Regan Wells, Texas. Real County Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson summed it up simply: "She's fat and happy."
A team from Concho Aviation, led by pilot Jeff Hill, found Gracie during an aerial search. Ranch manager Vick Jones confirmed she was in good shape, saying, "She's standing there, swishing her tail." A veterinary team is now being assembled to sedate her and bring her home to Cedar Hollow Ranch, WSOC TV reported.
A 14-Day Hill Country Escape That Went Viral
Gracie escaped her enclosure sometime between June 11 and 12, wandering into a canyon where giraffes had never fed before. She crossed a limestone slab and climbed over a mountain ridge, according to FOX 7 Austin. The ranch searched privately for about 10 days before the Real County Sheriff's Office was officially notified on June 22.
A $5,000 reward was posted for information on her whereabouts. The search went national fast. Local fire departments, San Antonio businesses, and social media users posted memes of Gracie photoshopped into famous landmarks. Sheriff Johnson said Gracie had a "catch me if you can" attitude — and in his nearly 30 years in law enforcement, he had "never had to hunt down a giraffe," Houston Chronicle reported.
Rugged Texas Terrain Made the Search a Team Effort
Real County is sometimes called the "Swiss Alps of Texas" for its steep canyons and rocky landscape. Deep ravines, limestone slabs, and dense brush of pecan, oak, and mesquite trees gave Gracie plenty of cover — and food. A game camera west of Leakey captured her image on June 17, confirming she was still in the area but moving, according to MySA.
Ground teams and drones struggled in the terrain. The aerial search by Concho Aviation finally cracked the case. Jeff Hill spotted Gracie on an uninhabited neighboring property, about four miles from where she started. Real County has only about 2,700 residents, WSOC TV noted, making the coordinated community response all the more notable.
Bringing Gracie Home Is the Riskiest Part of All
Getting Gracie back to Cedar Hollow Ranch is not simple. Giraffes are among the hardest animals to sedate safely. Their high blood pressure — needed to pump blood up their long necks — makes anesthesia dangerous. A bad fall during sedation can cause serious injury or death, a risk known as "capture myopathy," according to experts cited by WSOC TV.
The recovery plan calls for sedating Gracie, placing a hood over her eyes to keep her calm, and carefully roping her to the ground. She will then be loaded onto a specialized tall trailer designed for giraffes. Parts of the Hill Country cannot be reached by car, adding another layer of difficulty to the transport, WSOC TV reported.
Texas Exotic-Animal Laws Spark Fresh Questions
Cedar Hollow Ranch houses hundreds of exotic animals, including Nubian ibexes and impalas, and has kept giraffes for over 30 years. This was the ranch's first giraffe escape ever. Texas law allows private ownership of exotic animals like giraffes, as long as owners hold the right wildlife permits, KENS 5 reported.
But the state provides little oversight on how those animals are contained on private land. The incident has raised new questions about fencing standards and emergency response for exotic-animal escapes. Authorities expect Cedar Hollow Ranch to review how Gracie crossed a limestone slab that gave her enough height to get past standard high-game fencing, according to FOX 7 Austin.
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