Tippi Degré: The Real Life Mowgli

I think we all have dreamed about living in nature, sharing space with all sorts of beautiful plants, and get to be in contact with wild animals. Most of us probably dreamt about it when we were kids. And as an animal lover & vegan myself, this story just hits right at home for me.

Source: https://viva-la-vegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/products-patch_friends_not_food_C.png

Well, there is one child that got to live that dream back in the ’90s, and her parents took many photographs, which serve as evidence in today’s world, a human world that sometimes seems to be far away & completely apart from its natural roots.

I want to dedicate this article to Tippi, and say thank you, for shredding some light & remind us forever with her photos that innocence will always be part of our hearts; to protect, to care, to love & to be part of this beautiful world.

Source: https://static-wp.lonewolfmag.com/tippi2.jpg

Tippi’s Early Childhood

Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré was born on June 4th, 1990 in Windhoek, Namibia. She is the daughter of Alan Degré and Silvia Roberts, who worked there as wildlife & nature photographers for 20 years, in southern Africa. After Tippi was born, the Degré family had to leave West Africa’s National Park (where they were originally working) as demanded by the authority for the sake of Tippi’s safety. But it wasn’t long enough until the family relocated and got settled in Botswana.

“My name is also Okanti, which means ‘mongoose’ in the Ovambo language, one of the Namibian tribe”, says Tippi on her website.

Tippi’s parents would spend most of their day in the field along with the wildlife, trying to capture the best shots and their daughter Tippi was with them the whole time. Soon enough, all of these animals were the little girl’s best friends.

Source: http://40.media.tumblr.com/d5009eba6eecaa8996b7f88ceb596861/tumblr_ni4ay7E8sr1u6xl4fo7_1280.png

The Tribe’s Little Girl

Tippi was very comfortable and used to spend time with the local tribes that lived in Botswana, with the Himba tribe specifically; they lived in the Kalahari Desert. Sometimes they took care of her & she would play with their kids.

They taught her how to forage for food, speak their language and how to shoot a bow and arrow. They accepted her and her family as part of the tribe, and they would allow them to take pictures of them during their daily routines as well. She made some friends there, but nothing came close to the love she felt for her animal friends.

Source: https://estaticos-cdn.elperiodico.com/clip/2efd7d64-15f3-4c70-9e70-d842eaaf5d30_alta-libre-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg

Best Friends

When she turned 1 year and a half, she grew really close to a 28 years old elephant that was used to be around humans, his name was Abu and he was rescued from a circus in the USA; and a leopard named Jenbee, that also was part of the tribe and was hand-fed regularly. Tippi rarely got a chance to meet with other kids and naturally befriended all the animals she met. According to Tippi, she says she could communicate with them using her eyes, mind, heart & soul; but mostly her eyes.

Source: http://viemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/vie-magazine-tippi-africa-7-1.jpg

Abu used to pick up the little girl with his trunk around her waist and put her on his back for a ride, with total trust in each other. Often when Tippi was sleeping on the ground, her friend Abu would come to lie nearby next to her and shoo away annoying mosquitoes and flies from the little girl. When Tippi got a little bit older, she was able to climb herself on the elephant’s back and ride it. She called Abu “my big brother”.

Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSRsxwMRe3GJLnLJjxHHAz2I1XibzLO2Dps4XdN29lm5xfOq-sOeTILMJ4AYgn5N9nBShk&usqp=CAU

Sometimes people would ask her why she wasn’t afraid of playing specifically with the leopard, and she responded: “I know how to fight so I know what to do, but I don’t want to fight.” When she sat next to him (Jenbee), he’d know Tippi wasn’t afraid; there was nothing threatening about her. She also explained that it was important “to be smart, not make any big gestures or sudden movements around them”. And her most important rule? “No stick, no knife, no rifle, nothing!”

Source: https://volganga.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tippi-degre-and-wild-world-of-africa-05pr.jpg

Back to France

Tippi spent the first 10 years of her life living around these wonderful creatures. When she turned 10 her parents decided to get back to France, they wanted Tippi to go to a proper school and get her formal education started.

This was not easy at all for the little girl. Having lived her early childhood in direct contact with nature and wild animals, to arrive in a modern city was a real shock and she did not find herself really comfortable during this period. It was a real culture shock for her.

Source: http://viemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/vie-magazine-tippi-africa-2.jpg

She attended the local school for two years, but following the rules and taking part in the school schedule and discipline was hard. She couldn’t make any friends. She was different from the ‘city’ children and had different interests. Her parents then decided to home-school her.

Occasionally, she would catch pigeons in the streets of Paris to cuddle them. Sadly, they couldn’t be kissed by her, because they were not wild & clean like the animals she used to kiss in the bush.

Source: https://static-wp.lonewolfmag.com/tippi-degre.jpg

Appearing on TV & Attending University

She first appeared on TV in a documentary about her life called “Le Monde Selon Tippi”, meaning “The World According to Tippi”, which was released in 1997. Then, in the year 2004, Tippi went back to Africa to film a series of six episodes called “Around the World with Tippi” for the Discovery Channel. It was also in this year that her parents published her book called “My Book of Africa”; she participated in the writing of it as well.

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/6c/60/4e6c605550786bd54cc5a1f8dd6dd0e1.jpg

Later on, Tippi attended the Sorbonne University in Paris, in the Faculty of Cinematography. To this day, she continues to write books and she enjoys painting. She still wants to return to Africa to create a documentary, so she can share with the world the magic of this place.

She is also the Ambassador for the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute, and although she no longer lives in Africa, the animals are forever in her heart. Whenever she visits them, she feels at home with her family.

Source: https://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/05/Tippi-Degre-Growing-Up-In-Africa-Photos-7.jpg

All of the photos that Tippi’s parents took of her are truly beautiful. I recommend you look them up and appreciate the magical message that they communicate. I also want to share a video down below where you will see Tippi having fun in Africa. They are part of documentaries later shared by her parents.

Source: https://viemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/vie-magazine-tippi-africa-9.jpg

Let me know in the comments what you think! Would you have liked to have a childhood like Tippi’s? What is the thing that you like the most about her story? Do you believe that if all of us got closer to nature, as Tippi did, maybe we could have a different world? Perhaps a more loving one, a more understanding one? This whole story just reminded me of a beautiful phrase I read somewhere I can’t remember:

“It turns out that it’s not at all crazy to think of God as a child.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Ss9BinGiU

Some sources:

Volganga | Tippi Degré: Unique Girl Who Grew Up In Wild Africa

COMEDY | French Girl Raised In The African Wilderness Has A Unique Connection With Animals

VIE Magazine | A Real-Life Jungle Book