Huberta the wandering hippopotamus caught the imagination of the world when she in 1928, treked from the wilderness in Zululand, to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
This story about Huberta the hippo is a true one. This wandering hippopotamus caught the imagination of the world when she decided to go on a long trek in 1928, from the wilderness in Zululand, to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
It is a journey that took two and a half year years, from November 1928 to March 1931 - a journey that captivated an entire nation and to this very day, the traveller is spoken about with great admiration.
Huberta, the hippo was born in the beautiful countryside known as Zululand. One day in November 1928, for reasons only known to herself, she decided to leave her home and started to travel in a southwardly direction.
She was not shy of strangers - she quite happily walked over roads, railroads, through gardens, towns and farms, replenishing herself from the vast number of plants so freely displayed along the way and quenching her thirst whenever needed. Her reputation grew and so did her followers - large numbers of journalists, conservationists and hunters watched her every move. She was undaunted by this following and some days she would happily help herself to plants on a sugar cane plantation - in fact, it was after one such a stopover for a snack that she was named Huberta. The story appeared nationally in the newspapers and the press nicknamed the hippo Hubert, thinking that it was a male. Later, when it was discovered that Hubert was a lady, she was renamed Huberta.
As she steadfastly made her way down the south coast of the then named Natal (now called Kwazulu-Natal), she would make herself comfortable whenever the fancy took her. She found what she probably had decided was the ideal place to settle, in a small dam close to a railway track. She seemed to enjoy her new home and train passengers would often throw titbits and fruit to her - her life was made.
Man had to intervene though - They decided that Huberta should be moved to Johannesburg zoo and set out to capture her. Huberta was going to have none of this and stormed off with her would-be captors in hot pursuit. It was the classic comic book scenario - hotshot journalists fell into mud pools in their efforts to interview her while photographers crawled up trees whenever she chased them.
Her exploits captivated the nation and she was proclaimed royal game - so the journalists and zoo men from Johannesburg were ordered to leave her alone.
Her idyllic life had been disturbed, however and so she continued to travel southwards, in search of a new home. She even ambled onto one of the beaches in the city of Durban and amused holidaymakers who cheerfully fed her. She appeared to be happy as she swam in the sea and sauntered along the beach.
She moved further southwards, trampling over an elite golf course and even arrived uninvited to a party at the Durban Country Club. As partygoers were dancing to the music of the day, Huberta made her presence known as she ambled along the veranda of the club.
She stole hearts wherever she went - whether she was non-chalantly strolling down a busy city centre or passing through the predominantly Indian town of Anerley, where her admirers deified her. Even the mighty Zulus were in awe of her and were convinced that she somehow was interfacing with their dearly beloved, long departed, King Shaka.
March 1931: Huberta reached East London, in the Cape Province and found a cosy spot to sleep - on the railway tracks. An approaching train tried to waken her, but to no avail - Huberta was tired and Huberta needed to sleep. The engine driver slowed down and gently nudged Huberta, unharmed, off the tracks.
I wish that there was a happy ending - that Huberta had finally found her ideal home, but this was not to be. A month after she arrived in East London, man in the form of three hunters shot and killed her as she was relaxing in the Keiskamma River. Her body was found floating downstream.
The nation was in uproar and her murderers were brought to book, but they got off lightly with a small fine.
Huberta's body was recovered and today, the preserved, stuffed body can be viewed in the Kaffrarian Museum, King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
