An Idyllic Childhood
Chances are you won’t ever be able to compare your childhood with Tippi Degré’s! She was raised in Africa by her parents and she forms a huge bond with the wildlife there that has been strong over the past three decades!
You will see just how special her first ten years were as she grew up alongside her best friends. The photos you are about to see were taken by Tippi’s parents, Sylvie Robert and Alain Degré.
Meet Tippi
Tippi was born on the 4th of June 1990, in Namibia. For ten years, she grew up in Southern Africa, in the bush, along with her parents Sylvie Robert and Alain Degré. In her biography, we learn a little more about the connection her parents had with the Namibian people…
“My name is also Okanti, which means “mongoose” in the Ovambo language, one of the Namibian tribe. It can seem like a strange idea to call your daughter Mongoose, even if the word “Okanti” sounds nice. It is, nevertheless, the beginning of my story…”
The Beginning of Tippi’s Story
Tippi’s parents were wildlife photographers and producers and had to move to Africa so they could be close to the wildlife they intended to capture on camera. But Sylvie Robert was also going to be a mother, and instead of postponing the leave, they decided to become parents right in the middle of the jungle!
This is how Tippi began her first years. Instead of being a normal toddler and growing in France, she was taking naps with lion cubs or petting cheetah cubs. It might be crazy, but Tippi had a special connection with nature…
The Elephant in the ‘Room’
While nobody dreams of ever seeing an elephant up close, Tippi was actually their friend! She laid eyes on a big elephant called Abu, who was 28 years old, and the two strolled along the jungle, with Tippi resting on his trunk!
It must have been incredible to grow up with an elephant at home! Meanwhile, Tippi’s parents were keeping a close eye on their baby daughter, documenting her relationship with the animals.
She Was Their Muse
Although Alain Degre and Sylvie Robert went to Africa to capture the wildlife, they have never dreams their daughter would be the animal whisperer that lured all kinds of animals to come by her side. It’s safe to say she was her parents’ muse!
Tippi was playing with animals others could only dream to see at the zoo. In 2008, her adventures in Africa would become known around world when her parents released a book filled with stunning photographs. Let’s take a look at the rest of them…
An Unforgettable Childhood
Tippi has never forgotten her childhood, and will forever recall her moments in Africa. She had a lot of fun growing up among the tribespeople. If she were to have lived in the suburbs, she’d probably have no recollection of her childhood…
This little explorer was getting licked by a cheetah or picking up giant frogs to give them a hug. It was just a normal day for Tippi, the small explorer! That's when she didn't have to take her naps...
Just The Three of Us
“It was magical to be ale to be free in this nature with this child,” Tippi’s mother Sylvie said in an interview with The Telegraph. “She was a very lucky little girl – she was born and raised until the age of ten totally in the wild. It was just the three of us living in the wild with the animals and not too many humans.”
The images we’ve seen so far are utterly unbelievable, but Sylvie said that her young daughter was always safe around the wild animals. However, people were a bit skeptical when they saw the photos in the book…
They’re Still Wild Animals!
“You can’t just meet any of these animals and act like this with them,” said Sylvie. And any sane person would agree with Sylvie. She explained that the animals were accustomed with humans or even domestic, which is why Tippi wasn’t in danger as she spent her times in the wild.
“But in the arid or semi desert regions of Southern Africa people have farms of 10,000 to 20,000 hectares. The farmers often keep orphan animals and raise them in their house. Sometimes they are tame or used to humans and so this is how Tippi was able to be so close with them.”
Tippi’s Childhood Was Like a Fairytale
Just like Mowgli, Tippi was a jungle kid. The elephants loved her and the cute meerkats made sure she was being well groomed! It almost seemed like Tippi was a Disney princess, as wild animals gathered around her all the time!
“Tippi always said that everybody was gifted and this was her gift. She was in the mindset of these animals. She believed the animals were her size and her friends. She was using her imagination to live in these different conditions.”
Living With the Local Tribes
Tippi and her parents didn’t really live in the middle of nowhere. They lived among the local tribes, who loved and respected them. Tippi was their favorite since she was so sweet with the animals around, always eager to learn new things.
They taught her how to shoot with a bow and a lot of survival skills kids her age didn’t dream of learning! Here they are getting ready for the evening dance…
Learning Their Customs
The Namibian tribes made sure to show Tippi all the fun things she could do while in the camp. They were the ones that taught Tippi to dance until exhaustion. While most African tribes don’t like to have outsiders, it was tough not to love Tippi and her parents!
The joyful little girl rewarded them with the same love and followed the traditions they taught her. She was a brave little girl, as you can see from the next photograph.
Modeling in the Wild
Tippi didn’t mind being visited by odd animals, so when her mom decided to have some fun and dress up Tippi as if she was a model, the image was complete after a lizard decided to take a stroll on her shoulders!
“I don’t have friends here. Because I never see children. So the animals are my friends,” said Tippi once. Let's see her next to her bog brother, Abu!
Abu and Tippi
This is Abu, the 28-year old elephant, who Tippi called her big brother. He let her ride on his back and carried her with his trunk! It was one of the most amazing things she had experienced in Africa, she said.
“I speak to them with my mind, through my eyes, my heart, or my soul. I see that they understand and answer me,” said the girl. We can only imagine that as a kid, the view from up there was mesmerizing!
Taking a Nap
No matter the place, kids must take their afternoon naps, so who is a better sleeping companion than a lazy lion cub? This little furry baby was lucky to have Tippi around!
And since we are talking about baby lions, let us check her next photo where she hangs out with a baby snake. Yes, you read that right!
Snake Kisses
While lion cubs seem a little less threatening, snakes are not! Tippi got along even with the snakes, as she made no distinction between who was going to get hugs or not. As a result, the snake jumped in for a kiss as well…
It’s no doubt that Tippi was a real life Mowgli, which is why her parents decided to publish a book with the photographs they captured in Africa.
A Real-Life Mowgli
When Tippi became a teenager, her parents decided to move back in France so she could study. Not being able to forget her time spent with the wild animals, she began writing about her experience in Africa.
Her parents provided the photos, thus resulting the book called “My Book of Africa”. It was published in 2000 and in 2001, it became a bestseller according to German news magazine Der Spiegel. But this is not how Tippi’s story ends!
Tippi Loves Animals
Tippi will turn 30 this summer and she still is surrounded by wild animals. You see, the image of an alliance between nature, animals and children, is perpetuated through her love of nature. In 2001, she became the Godmother of the WWF!
She hasn’t forgotten her life in Africa, which is why she moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, so she could create documentaries on wildlife and the environment.
Discovery Channel Documentaries
Tippi even had documentaries on Discovery Channel in 2002 and 2003, called Around the World with Tippi. In 2013, she became the director of El Petit FICMA (International Environmental Film Festival), the the children section festival.
She is now involved not only in the Documentary Film industry, but also in wildlife conservation. Here she is back in Africa, alongside her colleagues…
A New Project
“We, Tippi, the Parallells brothers, Joep Mencke and other members of our bush team are co-creating a road-movie about interspecies communication aligned with sound and music,” wrote Tippi on her official Facebook page last summer.
We’re so excited to see more of what’s about to come. It’s so amazing to see how a child’s first ten years have formed this young woman whose love for nature is never ending!
At Peace
So many people loved Tippi’s story and work that they funded her project and allowed her to follow her dreams: “Feeling grateful and at peace after the amazing generosity everybody showed. It validated that we are on the right path and that messages from the animals are awaited to be shared.”
Tippi’s awesome childhood is certainly a one-in-a-million experience not everyone would be able to have. Sitting on the back of ostriches and communicating with the wildlife was certainly much better than riding a bike or playing on computers!