See an aerial photo of Gracie the giraffe discovered
Thanks to an aerial search, Gracie was found about four miles south of Cedar Hollow Ranch.
Gracie the giraffe has been found more than two weeks after she escaped from her Texas ranch.
The precocious young animal, which authorities say broke the norms of its fellow giraffes by climbing a rock slab in an attempt to escape Cedar Hollow Ranch in Real County, Texas, was found about four miles south of the ranch on the morning of June 26, according to the Real County Sheriff’s Office.
Cedar Hollow Ranch manager Vic Jones and Jeff Hill of Concho Aviation were searching for Gracie by air when they spotted her around 7:30 a.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said.
“Mr. Jones has contacted his veterinarian and is assembling a team to safely capture and bring Gracie home,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Gracie, who has distinctive round ears, left the ranch on June 11, Jones told USA TODAY. She had since been seen on multiple surveillance cameras at other properties in the county, but was always gone by the time the area was searched, Sheriff Nathan Johnson said.
Johnson said Gracie was “just hanging out and enjoying the countryside of Real County.”
Gracie is scheduled to be returned home to be reunited with her giraffe companion, Atlas. Jones said she is working with a fencing company to make sure she can’t get out again. The giraffes, who have lived at Cedar Hollow Ranch for the past 30 years, have never wandered into the area — because giraffes don’t typically climb rocks, he said.
“She’s quite an athlete for a giraffe,” Jones said.
Gracie’s condition was not immediately known as of June 26, but the sheriff’s office posted an aerial photo of Gracie surrounded by foliage.
