TRUE or FALSE?
| 1. Jessica was born in captivity. | |
| 2. Hippos are not usually dangerous to humans. | |
| 3. Tony has kept other wild animals before. | |
| 4. Jessica can be aggressive when she is hungry. | |
| 5. Jessica broke some things inside the house. | |
| 6. Jessica doesn’t get on with other hippos. | |
| 7. Jessica has escaped several times. | |
| 8. Jessica is too old to have babies. | |
Answer key: 1F 2F 3T 4F 5T 6F 7F 8F
Transcript:
Narrator: It is one of the rules of Africa: if you see a hippo, head the other way. But this is Jessica, and she breaks all the rules.
Tony: (unintelligible)
Narrator: Tony Joubert, a game warden , found her washed up by flood water when she was just a day old. Seven years on, she's still here.
Tony: I don't know whether she sees me as a hippo or she sees herself as a human. All I know is that ... there's a fantastic bond I've never had with any other animal in my whole life. I've raised elephants and buffalo and lions, and that stuff, but I've never had something this close. Never ever.
Narrator: Jessica spends her days lazing in the sun, and cooling down in the water, with Tony and his wife on hand to deliver refreshments: weak sweet coffee twice a day. Then there's the afternoon snack with the dogs. And if Jessica is still hungry, she knows where to go. A short walk to the house, where a closed door doesn't stop her, even if the dog gets in the way. She's already broken a sofa and a bed inside, so everywhere but the kitchen is off-limits. But the kitchen's her favourite place.
Shirley: Jessica sees herself as our child. She sees herself as a unique being, one of us, a part of the family. That's what she is. That is what she is to us.
Narrator: And how do you see her?
Shirley: I see Jessica as my daughter, 100%. She... I can't imagine my life without Jessica.
Narrator: And Jessica seems happy to stick around. It's one thing to tame a hippo in captivity, but what makes Jessica so remarkable is that she's free to leave at any time. Further along this river there's a pod of wild hippos, and Jessica likes to spend time with them, but she always comes back here. Probably because she knows she's on to a good thing.
The hippo kills more humans in Africa than any other wild mammal, but Jessica has never displayed any aggression. And after a long hard day of eating, she likes a massage before she goes to bed.
Hippos live into their 40's and Jessica is expected to mate and breed, so there could soon be another hefty pet here, curling up with the dogs to go to sleep.
Emma Hurd, Sky News, Hoedspruit, South Africa
