Huberta the Hippo: 1,600 Kilometres Across South Africa and a Nation Stopped to Watch

August 8, 2026

She walked 1,600 kilometres across South Africa over three years, crossing 122 rivers, sleeping on railway tracks, and walking through a country club garden party without stopping. Everybody loved her. Then three men shot her in April 1931, and the country never quite forgave it.

November 1928

A hippopotamus stepped out of the water near Krantzkloof Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal in November 1928 and started walking south. She left the waters of Zululand and just kept going.

The Natal Mercury ran the first reports. They called her Hubert. Nobody had confirmed the sex, and a wandering hippo was assumed to be male. The name stuck for years.

Three Years on the Road

She crossed 122 rivers over the course of her journey. She slept across railway lines when she needed to rest, and the trains would nudge her awake as gently as they could before continuing on. She walked through the garden of the Durban Country Club during a formal outdoor function, moving between the tables and the guests without urgency, leaving the way she came.

Every town she entered came to a stop. Children pressed their faces to windows. Farmers followed at a respectful distance. Newspapers ran illustrations of her footprints on the front page. People left food for her along the route.

The Natal Provincial Council, recognizing what had become a genuine national event, declared her Royal Game in early 1931. Killing her was now a criminal offense.

April 1931

She reached the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape. Three men shot her there.

They were prosecuted under the Game Act and fined twenty-five pounds each. At the time, that was considered a serious penalty. Most people thought it wasn't nearly enough.

What Happened After

Her body was sent to London to be mounted by taxidermists at the British Museum. She returned to South Africa in 1932. When she went on display at the Durban Museum, more than 20,000 people visited over five weeks. Lines formed outside before the museum opened each morning.

It was during the preparation of her body that the taxidermists confirmed, for the first time, that she was female. The country had spent three years calling her Hubert. They renamed her Huberta. She is now at the Amathole Museum in King William's Town, Eastern Cape, where her journey ended.