Huberta, the hippopotamus
Encyclopedia
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
and one of the most famous animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n history.
In November 1928 Huberta left her waterhole
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
in the St. Lucia Estuary in Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
and set off on the 1600 km (1000 mi) journey to the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
, a journey which would take her three years. In that time Huberta became a minor celebrity in South Africa and attracted crowds wherever she went. She was initially thought to be a male and was nicknamed Hubert by the press.
She stopped for a while at the mouth of the Mhlanga River in Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
and a failed attempt was made to capture her and put her in Johannesburg Zoo
Johannesburg Zoo
The Johannesburg Zoo is a zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1904, it has traditionally been owned and operated by the City of Johannesburg...
. After this she headed south to Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
where she visited a beach and a country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
.
Moving on to the Umgeni River she became revered by Zulus and Xhosas alike.
Finally she arrived in East London in March 1931. Despite her having been declared Royal Game (and thus protected) by the Natal Provincial Council, she was shot by hunters a month later.
After a public outcry the hunters were arrested and fined £25. Huberta's body was recovered and sent to a taxidermist in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Upon her return to South Africa in 1932 she was greeted by 20,000 people and can now be seen in the Amathole Museum
Amathole Museum
The Amathole Museum, formerly the Kaffrarian Museum, in King William's Town, Eastern Cape province of South Africa, houses the second largest collection of mammals in South Africa and includes Huberta, the hippopotamus. The Xhosa Gallery, housed in the old post office building, concentrates on the...
in King William's Town
King William's Town
King William's Town is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean port of East London...
.
Huberta is the subject of the children's book Hubert The Traveling Hippopotamus by Edmund Lindop and illustrated by Jane Carlson. The book was published in 1961 by Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
.