The search continues for Gracie, a young giraffe that wandered away from Cedar Hollow Ranch near Leakey earlier this month, prompting a multiagency search, a $5,000 reward and, in Bandera, a flood of playful social media posts.
As of Thursday morning, Gracie had not been found.
The Real County Sheriff's Office is leading the search with assistance from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Real County Animal-Rescue Shelter after the giraffe escaped the ranch.
Officials said Gracie was last photographed on a game camera west of Leakey moving through dense Hill Country brush, and residents are being asked to report sightings rather than approach the animal.
According to ranch owner Vick Jones, Gracie is a 3½- to 4-year-old reticulated giraffe that arrived at Cedar Hollow Ranch in May.
Jones told The New York Times she wandered into a canyon near a gate, ended up on the wrong side of the enclosure and continued into the surrounding Hill Country.
The ranch has housed giraffes for more than 30 years, and the steep terrain has typically kept them confined to the property.
Officials say Gracie can be identified by her rounded ears and distinctive reticulated coat pattern.
Cedar Hollow Ranch is home to hundreds of exotic animals, including impalas, Nubian ibexes and bongo antelope. A $5,000 reward remains in effect for information leading to her safe return.
While search crews continued looking for the runaway giraffe, Bandera businesses and organizations embraced the unusual story with humor.
Using AI-generated images, Bandera Electric Cooperative joked that Gracie had been recruited to help crews with utility line work. Hyo Silver posted that the giraffe had wandered outside its storefront, while Bandera Brewery imagined Gracie back in its beer garden.
The posts quickly spread across Facebook, with residents joining in and imagining the missing giraffe making stops throughout the Cowboy Capital while hoping she is safely returned home.
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