Tippi of Africa: The True Story of the Girl Who Grew Up in the Wild

Tippi Degré, daughter of wildlife photographers, spent her first decade in Namibia forming extraordinary bonds with wild animals. Dubbed the 'real-life Mowgli,' her unique childhood, from befriending elephants to learning from Bushmen, challenges our view of the human-animal connection.

An Unconventional Beginning

Imagine a childhood where your playground is the vast African savanna and your best friends include a five-ton elephant and a leopard. For most, this sounds like a fantasy, the plot of a Disney movie. But for Tippi Degré, it was simply life. Born in 1990 to French wildlife photographers Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert, Tippi spent the first ten years of her life in rural Namibia, experiencing an upbringing that was anything but ordinary.

The Girl Who Befriended the Wild

Living among the animals her parents were documenting, Tippi formed bonds that defy belief. She referred to Abu, a gentle African elephant, as her brother. She would ride on his back, his massive form a stark contrast to her tiny one. Her other companions included J&B, a young leopard who would nap with her, lion cubs, meerkats, and even a snake. The photographs from this time are iconic, showing a fearless young girl in perfect harmony with creatures most of us would only see behind reinforced glass.

"I don't have friends here. Because I never see children. So the animals are my friends."

This simple statement from a young Tippi encapsulates the profound and isolated nature of her world. Her interactions were not fleeting; they were deep relationships built on mutual trust, a testament to her intuitive understanding of the animal kingdom.

A Cultural Immersion

Tippi's education extended far beyond her animal friendships. She was also welcomed by the San people of the Kalahari, who taught her their language and essential survival skills, like how to find water and food from the land. She was not just an observer of this ancient culture; she was a participant, a bridge between two vastly different worlds.

The Shock of the Concrete Jungle

At the age of ten, Tippi's idyllic African chapter came to an abrupt end when her family moved back to Paris. The transition was a profound culture shock. The girl who once roamed free in the bush was now confined to a small apartment, the sounds of the savanna replaced by the noise of city traffic. She found it incredibly difficult to adjust to urban life and connect with her peers, whose experiences were so alien to her own. After two years in the state school system, she was homeschooled, finding solace in her memories of Africa.

Legacy and a More Complex Reality

The story of Tippi is often romanticized, but it's also a subject of debate. Many have questioned the safety of her upbringing, while others have marveled at its unique beauty. The reality is nuanced. While her connection to the animals was genuine, many of them were not entirely wild. They were often habituated animals, raised by local farmers or used in film productions, which made such close interactions possible. This context doesn't diminish the magic of her story, but it does ground it in a more understandable reality, one that acknowledges both the incredible bond she shared with these creatures and the specific circumstances that allowed it.

Where is Tippi Now?

Today, Tippi Degré has channeled her extraordinary childhood into a passion for conservation and film. She studied cinema at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and has returned to Africa to create documentaries for channels like the Discovery Channel. She became the director of 'Tippi's Tented School', an initiative to bring awareness to the lives of the San people in Namibia. Her story, captured in her book Tippi of Africa, continues to inspire and fascinate, reminding us of a world where the line between human and animal is beautifully blurred.

Sources