©Gary Bendig via Unsplash
After nearly two weeks on the run, Gracie the giraffe has been found in the rugged Texas Hill Country. The three-year-old giraffe was suddenly spotted from a helicopter on Friday morning, about six kilometers south of the ranch where she lives.
According to Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson, owner and ranch manager Vick Jones sprang into action to bring Gracie home safely. He contacted a veterinarian and assembled a team to capture the giraffe and return her to Cedar Hollow Ranch.
Gracie had escaped from her enclosure on the remote property earlier this month, about 150 kilometers west of San Antonio. Jones said she had wandered into a part of the private reserve that other giraffes had previously avoided, after which she ended up “on the wrong side of the fence.”
The search had already attracted a lot of attention, partly because the Texas Hill Country, with its warm climate and rugged landscape, tends to attract more exotic animals that sometimes escape. Sheriff Johnson said he often assists in searches for escaped animals, but he emphasized to CBS News that this was his first missing giraffe.
Jones reported that Gracie looked well when she was found. She was in a remote area with plenty of water and vegetation, and, according to him, appeared healthy and calm. Before she can return, the giraffe must be sedated and loaded into a special tall trailer, which the ranch says will be quite an operation.
It will be a while yet before Gracie is safely back at the ranch. But there is already great relief, given that she had been on the run in the Texas wilderness for over two weeks.
©Gary Bendig via Unsplash - illustrative image of a giraffe