The Genuine Tarzan, Nurtured By African Animals, Happened To Be A Girl.

Riding atop a five-ton elephant she fondly referred to as ‘my brother,’ casually mingling with a cheetah, and cradling a colossal bullfrog as if it were a Teddy bear – the childhood of Tippi Degre, a French girl, reads more like a contemporary rendition of Mowgli rather than a factual account. Born in Namibia to French wildlife photographer parents and raised in Africa, Tippi spent her entire youth frolicking with untamed creatures on the African savannah, including lion cubs, a mongoose, an ostrich, a cheetah, a baby zebra, giraffes, and crocodiles.

For Tippi, the existence of African wildlife seemed commonplace; she once expressed, “I lack companionship here since I rarely encounter other children. Therefore, the creatures become my friends.”

Now 23 years old, Tippi is the sole offspring of wildlife photography enthusiasts Sylvie Robert and Alain Degre, who compiled her captivating photos into a book titled “Tippi of Africa.” Sylvie expressed, “It was magical to be able to be free in this nature with this child. She was a fortunate little girl – she was born and raised until the age of 10 entirely in the wild.”

Website: tippi.org, Book: Tippi of Africa