Huberta the Hippo

Huberta (initially named Hubert; the gender was discovered after death) was a hippopotamus and
one of the most famous animals in South African history.[1]
In November 1928, Huberta left her waterhole in the St. Lucia Estuary in Zululand and set off on the
1600 km (1000 mi) journey to the Eastern Cape, a journey which took 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. The first report in the press
was on 23 November 1928 in the Natal Mercury and reported the appearance of a hippo in Natal.
The report was accompanied by the only photograph of Huberta in life.[1]

Huberta stopped for a while at the mouth of the Mhlanga River in Natal and a failed attempt was
made to capture her and put her in Johannesburg Zoo. After this, she headed south to Durban
where she visited a beach and a country club. Moving on to the Umgeni River, she became revered
by Zulus and Xhosas alike.

Finally, Huberta 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 farmers a month later.
After a public outcry, the farmers were arrested and fined £25. Huberta's body was recovered and
sent to a taxidermist in London. Upon her return to South Africa in 1932, she was greeted by 20,000
people and was displayed at the Amathole Museum (earlier known as the Kaffrarian Museum) in
King William's Town.
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.[