The 1,200-pound giraffe, named Gracie, wandered away from her unfenced habitat at Cedar Hollow Ranch in Leakey, Texas, on June 12.<\/p>\n
The 10-foot-tall animal was located by helicopter on Friday morning about four miles south of the ranch in a remote, heavily-wooded area.<\/p>\n
Vick Jones, who manages the ranch, told FOX 7 that Gracie moved there in May and still wasn\u2019t used to her surroundings when she wandered away.<\/p>\n
RUNAWAY ZEBRA’S WILD ADVENTURE COMES TO AN END AFTER DRAMATIC HELICOPTER RESCUE<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being 10 feet tall, Gracie hid out in the Texas Hill Country for two weeks. (Vic Jones via AP)<\/p>\n He explained that she likely didn\u2019t mean to leave the ranch, but had been feeding in an area of the ranch that giraffes never had before and got out and came back on the wrong side of the gate.<\/p>\n Gracie is one of two giraffes who live on the property.<\/p>\n “Just one of them bad deals that happen, you know?” he told the station. “And inadvertently, like I say, we\u2019ve never had giraffes go up in that area before and she did.”<\/p>\n BELOVED PET MAKES DARING ESCAPE FROM ANIMAL HOSPITAL AFTER SURGERY AND TRAVELS 3 MILES TO GET HOME<\/a><\/p>\n Jones decided to post a missing alert for Gracie on a local lost and found app.<\/p>\n “I just thought, well, maybe some of the locals out on the ranches, people who work on some of these ranches might would see that or hear about it and give me an idea of which way she might have went off the property,” Jones explained. “And 24 hours later, it\u2019s all over the world.”<\/p>\n Gracie was finally spotted by helicopter two weeks later. (FOX 7)<\/p>\n The post quickly went viral,<\/a> with people making AI photos of Gracie everywhere from working as a lifeguard at a pool, as a firefighter who doesn\u2019t need a ladder or floating down a lazy river in a floaty.<\/p>\n ABANDONED BEAR CUB, ‘UNDER ARREST FOR CUTENESS,’ GRABBED BY STATE TROOPERS FROM INTERSTATE HIGHWAY<\/a><\/p>\n “I now know what the word viral means,” Jones joked.<\/p>\n Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said Jones called a veterinarian after Gracie was found Friday, and they are getting ready to send a team to get her back to the ranch.<\/p>\n “She\u2019s in good shape,” Jones said. “She\u2019s standing there, swishing her tail.”<\/p>\n He also stressed that she is a gentle giant who wasn\u2019t of any harm to anyone.<\/p>\n Gracie lives in Texas Hill Country. (Josh Noel\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n “If you move toward her, she’s taking off,” he said.<\/p>\n Gracie was found on empty private property near a pond and creek and had plenty of vegetation to eat.<\/p>\n For the trip home, Gracie will need to be sedated, have a hood put over her eyes, and then she\u2019ll be transported in an open-air trailer, then an enclosed trailer made for giraffes.<\/p>\n![\"Photos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gracie-the-giraffe.gif\")
<\/p>\n![\"Gracie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gracie-seen-from-helicopter.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ranch-road-337-hill-country-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
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