Huberta…South Africa’s famous hippo!

Huberta’s Journey…..

Ek’s gek oor hierdie Seekoei-verhaal. Die storieboek is ook in Afrikaans verkrygbaar en maak seker jy kry hom in die hande, want ek dink hy gaan dalk uit druk gaan oor ‘n paar jaar. Ek weet net ek was baie gelukkig om hom in Afrikaans te kon kry! Maar Engels is ook seker net so goed, solank jy hom kry! Hierdie boek verleen hom ook tot die gebruik in Kuns! en kinders kan hul eie lekker seekoei-stories skryf na hul Huberta s’n gehoor het! Op een van die links hieronder kan jy ook lees oor ander bekende seekoeie. Geniet die Buffalocity-link, want daar is oulike inligting oor Huberta! en die museum ook!

  Huberta: the wandering star of the Eastern Cape

One of King William’s Town’s most famous residents is Huberta the hippo. In November 1928, for reasons known only to herself, Huberta began a long trek from St Lucia in Zululand to the Eastern Cape. For three years, she took a 1 600km wandering path southwards and her adventures captured the imagination of the nation and the world.
Huberta was not shy of strangers – she crossed roads and railroads and visited towns and cities. She ate her way through parks, gardens and farms and trampled over golf courses. Wherever she went, there followed journalists, photographers, hunters – and the interest of thousands of people. She became quite famous and her story appeared in South Africa’s newspapers, as well as international publications such as Punch and the Chicago Tribune.

The press, thinking she was a male hippo, nicknamed her Hubert. Later, when it was discovered that Hubert was in fact a female, she was renamed Huberta.

During her journey through what was then Natal (now called KwaZulu-Natal), Huberta settled in the lagoon at the mouth of the Mhlanga River. She seemed to enjoy her new home, and visitors would throw fruit, sugar cane and other titbits to her.

A decision was made to move Huberta to the Johannesburg Zoo and a team set out to capture her. However, Huberta evaded capture in a classic comic-book scenario: journalists fell into mud pools in their efforts to interview her and she chased photographers up trees. But, as her status grew, the Natal Provincial Council decided to declare her royal game and it became illegal to catch or hunt her.

Once her idyllic life in the pool had been disturbed, she continued to travel southwards. She walked on to one of Durban’s beaches, and amused holidaymakers when she swam in the sea and sauntered along the beach. She trampled over the elite Beachwood Golf Course and arrived uninvited to a party at the Durban Country Club, ambling along the veranda as partygoers danced.

She went from there to the Umgeni River. She reached mythical status, with Zulus allegedly convinced that she had some connection to King Shaka because of the time she had spent in one of his former sacred pools. Xhosas honoured her as the spirit of a great chief who had returned to the world to seek justice for his people.  Read on this link more!

Update: January 2014: The first two links are broken, these links were my original sources. The 3rd and 4th links are new links for you to read about Huberta.

1. http://www.buffalocity.gov.za/visitors/huberta.stm

2. http://www.keiskammafriends.com/articles/huberta_garson.htm

3. http://www.museum.za.net/index.php/14-fp-roktabs/31-huberta-the-world-s-most-famous-hippo

4. http://eng.hrosi.org/?id=91

Famous Hippos

Book: Huberta the Hiking Hippo

by: Daphne Cox

Picture book for children age: 5-8/9

OOS-KAAP: Swerwer-seekoei kry ’n opvolger
YOLANDÉ HAYWARD
29/05/2008 10:09:01 PM – (SA)

PORT ELIZABETH. – Is dit blote toeval of is daar nou na 80 jaar nóg ’n seekoei met jeukerige voete?

Huberta, die bekende swerwer-seekoei, het in 1928 al wat leef en beef aan die klets gehad toe sy haar “huis” in St. Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal verlaat het en die pad Oos-Kaap toe aangepak het.
Dit blyk dat die seekoei wat vandeesweek op Ballito se strand in Durban gewaar is moontlik in haar vrye voetspore wil volg. Nie net het albei seekoeie se stories in KwaZulu-Natal begin nie, maar dit lyk of al twee ’n liefde vir die branders het. Luidens talle nuusberigte oor Huberta het die media in daardie tyd ook van haar vrye voete te hore gekom en haar eers Hubert gedoop. Dit het egter later aan die lig gekom dat die hy eintlik ’n sy was. Van toe af is sy sommer Huberta genoem. Luidens die Buffalo City-webwerf het haar pad – van sowat 1 600 km – met dié van baie Suid-Afrikaners gekruis. Sy het glo vir ’n wyle in die Mhlangarivier in KwaZulu-Natal gebly, maar toe is daar besluit om haar te vang en na die Johannesburg-dieretuin te neem. Dié planne het haar glo nie beïndruk nie en sy het uit haar vangers se kloue geglip en weer die pad gevat. Volgens die webwerf het die provinsiale regering toe besluit om dit onwettig te maak om Huberta te vang of te jag. Net soos die seekoei op Ballito se strand het Huberta ook ’n besoek aan een van Durban se strande afgelê en sonsoekers daar met oop monde gelaat. Volgens mnr. Garnett Cantor, ­eienaar van die Kraggakamma-wildpark in die Baai, is dit nie ­eienaardig vir seekoeie om in seewater te beland nie.

In 1931 het Huberta die Oos-Kaap bereik, maar dis ook hier waar haar epiese reis en lewe tot ’n einde gekom het. Sy is deur ’n groep jagters by die Keiskammarivier geskiet. Vandag is haar opgestopte seekoeilyf in die Amathole-museum in King William’s Town te sien. Volgens Cantor is swerwer-seekoeie nie ’n vreemde verskynsel nie. “Veral bulle – omdat hulle baie territoriaal is – word partykeer uit hul groepe geskop. Dan vat hulle die pad.” Hy waarsku hoewel Huberta se storie mense betower het, moet dit mense nie blind maak vir die feit dat seekoeie gevaarlik is nie.
Bron: Die Burger
http://www.dieburger.com/Stories/News/Regions/17.0.502052609.aspx

Image: Wikimedia

Hippo-Skull..image: Wikimedia

Die Suid-Afrikaanse boek — wat in Engels geskryf is wat ek onder hande gehad het, se titel is “Huberta’s Journey”…volg hierdie link ook daaroor!
Cecily van Straten is die outeur…volgens hierdie link.
http://www.childlit.org.za/vstraten.html

Image: dinosoria.com/mammifere/sens-huberta

Image: Everypicture.com
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping