Huberta’s standing still
Hippo who walked 1 600km can be seen today, blushing at the King William’s Town museum. By
HUMANS seem drawn to stories of incredible journeys: intrepid individuals venturing into territory new to them, be it polar realms, deep space or inner-city streets. Explorers fire the imagination, even when that explorer is a hippopotamus.
Huberta the hippo was born on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, probably as far north as St Lucia, and her abbreviated story (and mortal remains) can still be found in the all-too-quiet halls of the Amathole Museum in King William’s Town.
It’s a tale told with understated humour and ample anthropomorphism. Huberta herself stares glassy-eyed at visitors, her taxidermied skin tinged pink, as if she’s blushing.
In 1928, for reasons known only to herself, she left home and began heading south, towards territories where no hippo remained alive. She was first seen in sugar cane in New Guelderland on November 22 1928 — “by terrified Indians”, according to the museum notes.
Shadowy photos offer proof. From here, the evidence mounts. A shot of coppers examining deep tracks across a golf course in Durban North or a crowd surrounding a patch of bush said to contain the hippo after she “cheekily chased a precocious press photographer”.
Newspapers loved her. The web, too, is littered with stories about Huberta bathing at night in a monastery pond, wandering West Street in Durbs and stopping a train by kipping on the tracks, although these exploits are not recorded in the museum display. But then, Huberta has inspired many a tale, including at least three children’s books. Some gave her spiritual qualities, others claimed she was “the protector of the poor”.
A rough map traces sightings further south: Pinetown in June 1929, Umkomaas in December. Then Port St Johns, the Nahoon River near East London, and finally, the Keiskamma River in April 1931, a long way from home. But the image here is of a carcass: poor Huberta was shot by illiterate farmers despite her having been declared protected royal game. Her death was discussed in parliament and those responsible fined £25 apiece. A Mauser hunting rifle now sits in a case after evidently having been retrieved from the river 18 years after the crime, although the weapons are also said to have been presented at the farmers’ trial.
Huberta’s skin and skull were salvaged by museum director Guy Shortridge and his assistant, and thanks to early crowdfunding, sent to London to be stuffed. Huberta returned on the SS City of Hong Kong, and was first shown at the Durban Museum. Her last travels were to a Science Festival in 1999; she now rests in peace in the halls of the Amathole Museum.
She’s not alone. Over 400 other taxidermy specimens are on display, from a dishevelled Cape lion to a vulture swinging from the ceiling. Further riches recline in the museum archives, accessible to researchers on request.
It’s a bit shabby now, but as with all aging museum displays, the Amathole is fascinating. Its charm is that its displays let us explore a version of the past.
Entrance is R5, free for kids under 15. See museum.za.net or call 043 642 4506.
She’s not alone. Over 400 other taxidermy specimens are on display