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Gracie the missing giraffe is found in Texas after 2-week search

By Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Gracie the giraffe, missing for over two weeks, was found in Texas on June 26, authorities said. Her disappearance put her in the national spotlight and sparked searches by air and land.
Gracie the giraffe, missing for over two weeks, was found in Texas on June 26, authorities said. Her disappearance put her in the national spotlight and sparked searches by air and land. Provided by the Real County Sher USA TODAY Network, Reuters

Gracie the giraffe has been found more than two weeks after she escaped from the Texas ranch where she lives.

The precocious young animal who authorities said defied the norms of her fellow giraffes by scaling a rocky slab to escape the Cedar Hollow Ranch in Real County, Texas, was spotted the morning of June 26 about 4 miles south of the ranch, according to the Real County Sheriff's Office.

Vick Jones, manager of Cedar Hollow Ranch, and Jeff Hill of Concho Aviation were searching for by air Gracie when they saw her at about 7:30 a.m. local time, the sheriff's office said.

"Mr. Jones has contacted his Veterinarian and is putting a team together to safely capture Gracie and bring her home," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Gracie, with her signature rounded ears, left the ranch on June 11, Jones told USA TODAY. Since then, she had been spotted on multiple game cameras on other properties in the county but was always gone by the time the area was searched, Sheriff Nathan Johnson said.

Gracie was "out on a fling, enjoying the countryside of Real County," Johnson said.

Gracie is expected to be returned home to rejoin her fellow giraffe resident, Atlas. Jones said he's working with a fencing company to make sure she can't get out again. The giraffes that have lived at Cedar Hollow Ranch over the past three decades have never wandered to that area − because giraffes don't typically climb rocks, he said.

"She's quite the athlete for a giraffe," Jones said.

Gracie's condition wasn't immediately clear on June 26, but the sheriff's office posted a picture of her amid some foliage taken from the air.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gracie the missing giraffe is found in Texas after 2-week search

Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Gracie the giraffe, who had been missing in Texas for over two weeks, was located on June 26, 2026, the Real County Sheriff's Office said. She is seen in this photo taken during an aerial search.
Gracie the giraffe, who had been missing in Texas for over two weeks, was located on June 26, 2026, the Real County Sheriff's Office said. She is seen in this photo taken during an aerial search. Screenshot from the Real County USA TODAY Network, Reuters

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 12:31 PM.

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