The Real County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe, last spotted near Leakey, about 100 miles northwest of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country.
The giraffe’s name is Gracie, and she has rounded ears, according to a department release first shared on Monday, June 23, at just after 12:30 p.m.
Gracie was last seen on a game camera west of Leakey. She is missing from the Cedar Hollow Ranch.
Her owners are offering a $5,000 reward for information that could lead to her capture and safe return. The sheriff’s office confirmed to MySA that the exotic animal remains missing as of June 23.
According to a 2018 column in the Houston Chronicle, the property belongs to Houston businessman Dan Allford and is home to several exotic species from around the world. The land is described as an “idyllic 1,000-acre Central Texas ranch,” part of the Lone Star State’s billion-dollar exotic wildlife business.
“The giraffes can’t escape the valley because the hills are too steep. The brush is so dense that the shy bongo antelope are only seen when they visit the watering hole,” the column suggests.
A ranch official declined a MySA interview request.
Exotic animal species are often raised and hunted on properties like the Cedar Hollow Ranch, according to the column. However, the animals are also sometimes reintroduced to their native habitats to repopulate the areas in some ecologically sensitive cases.
Those with information on Gracie’s whereabouts can contact ranch manager Vick Jones at 830-279-5822 or the Real County Sheriff’s Office at 830-232-5201.