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The search for Gracie the giraffe, missing in Texas, hit its two-week mark on June 25 as the manager of her ranch is continuing to scour rugged terrain from the ground and sky.The giraffe, described as having signature rounded ears, escaped from the Cedar Hollow Ranch in Real County, Texas, after climbing up a rocky area to make it outside the property's game fence, Sheriff Nathan Johnson and ranch manager Vick Jones told USA TODAY.Her owner is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to her safe capture and return, the Real County Sheriff's Office said.Why is it so hard to find a giraffe in Texas?The area of Texas where Gracie is wandering is extremely rural, with many ranches that are privately owned, along with foliage and rough terrain. It's not like a city, where someone would easily spot Gracie walking down the sidewalk.Since her disappearance, Gracie has been spotted on cameras at other properties in the area, but her exact location is still unknown, Johnson said. The sheriff is confident Gracie is still within the county or the neighboring one."We know the general area now," Jones told USA TODAY on June 25. "We're going to expand our search tomorrow."How has Gracie been surviving on her own for 2 weeks?The Real County sheriff previously told USA TODAY there were some concerns for Gracie's safety in the rugged terrain, but Jones is optimistic she will be OK. Though there are sometimes sightings of mountain lions in Texas Hill Country, Jones said he's not too worried about Gracie's safety, because mountain lions are relatively rare. As for coyotes, "she can kick a coyote into next week," Jones said.While living at Cedar Hollow Ranch, Gracie enjoys a diet of foliage from the trees there, alfalfa, a 16% protein feed, carrots, apples and sweet potatoes, Jones said. On the run, she won't be wanting for food, he said. There is plenty of foliage for her to graze from, and water from recent rainfall, he said.What is Gracie the giraffe doing in Texas?Gracie, who is about 4 years old, is not quite to her fully grown state, he said. She was purchased in May by the owners of the ranch to join another older giraffe they already had at the property named Atlas.The ranch has had giraffes on the property for about 30 years, said Jones, but Gracie's behavior was a surprise. She is the only giraffe that has ever ventured to the area where she escaped, which is a solid rock slab, he said. A giraffe normally wouldn't be able to maneuver it. Jones said he's already contacted a fence company to secure the area that never needed it before."She's quite the athlete for a giraffe," Jones said.Jones said he's been contacting different property owners in areas where Gracie might be to ask for permission to search their land. He's searched on the ground, but said going up in a hired helicopter gives better visibility over some of the terrain.What has been found in the search for Gracie? A loose bull, for one thing.Meanwhile, Johnson said the sheriff's office has found a Brahman bull in the area of Reagan Wells and is looking for an owner to return it to.Coming across a wandering bull in Real County isn't too out of the ordinary, Johnson said. There are many landowners in the region with agricultural land, and it's not uncommon for them to have exotic animals. Cedar Hollow Ranch has a "couple hundred" animals all told, including the giraffes, and multiple species of antelope, ibex and deer, said Jones.In Johnson's career, he's dealt with missing water buffalo, chimpanzees and other types of monkeys, he said."We've had all kinds of exotics over the years escape the owners' containment, and they go on a fling," Johnson said. "In almost 30 years of being a lawman, this is my first escapee giraffe."
