"Missing Giraffe Gracie Sparks $5,000 Reward After Two Weeks on the Run from Texas Ranch"

A BELOVED giraffe has been missing from a ranch for a week and a half, prompting an ongoing search effort and $5,000 reward for information.

Gracie was last seen on a game camera about five days after she went missing, according to Real County Animal Shelter-Rescue.

For almost two weeks, residents of a rural Texas county have been looking, mostly up, for a missing giraffe called Gracie that wandered off from a private game ranch Credit: Facebook Jones told NBC 5 that Gracie – who arrived at the property in May – is around three to four years old and stands approximately 10 to 11 feet tall Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk

She was seen roaming in an area west of Leakey, around 100 miles northwest of San Antonio, Texas.

The giraffe is believed to have travelled only around three miles from where she originally escaped.

Her owner, Vick Jones, said she is now moving across a patchwork of private ranch land.

Jones told 5 that Gracie – who arrived at the property in May – is around three to four years old and stands approximately 10 to 11 feet tall.

The ranch is home to hundreds of , including impalas, Nubian ibexes and a Central African antelope species.

Only two other giraffes are kept on site.

Jones said Gracie wandered off after feeding on a rocky hillside.

He said the area is not usually visited by the ranch’s other giraffes.

She then moved through an unfenced section beyond an 8-foot gate and left the property.

A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to her capture and safe return.

“Appreciate the concern everyone has, all we can do is expand our search in that general area,” Jones said.

The search has drawn attention across Real County, a rural area with a population of about 700 people.

Residents have been scanning open land and tree lines for the missing animal.

The Real County Sheriff’s Office issued alerts asking people to be on the lookout.

Officials even circulated a description of Gracie’s features.

“They gave a description, ‘Gracie has rounded ears’,” one observer posted on X.

Jones described Gracie as a reticulated giraffe native to eastern Africa.

He said she is more exploratory than the ranch’s other giraffes.

“This giraffe, like none of the others ever did, she would walk around,” he said.

Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said he initially found the situation unusual but quickly took it seriously.

“It found a way outside of the high game fence and after that it’s been on a fling just enjoying the more rugged parts of Real county,” he said.

He also warned of dangers in the area.

“We have mountain lions, we have other animals, a lot of coyotes, and there are predators out that can harm her, although she’s a big animal,” he said.

At one point, a report from another San Antonio station said Gracie had been found.

It stated: “The giraffe that disappeared from a ranch in Leakey has been found alive,” adding she was located “a little farther out than expected.”

Officials later confirmed that report was incorrect.

The search for Gracie is continuing.