Most South Africans love their Rooibos, however there’s most likely no larger fan (bodily talking!) than Jessica the Hippo, one among SA’s most well-known animal stars around the globe.
Jessica has performed the lead in a number of Nationwide Geographic documentaries, appeared on the Discovery Channel, SKY information, BBC, Japanese, German and Australian telly and even made it onto the Oprah Winfrey Present.
Yearly, 1000’s of vacationers flock to catch a glimpse of the 22-year-old hippopotamus hanging out on the 6 ha reserve in Hoedspruit, located alongside the Blyde River.
Her favorite snack is homegrown Rooibos, and he or she eagerly gulps down 20 l a day.
Honorary sport ranger, Tonie Joubert and his spouse, Shirley, raised Jessica since she was a calf. They rescued her through the devastating floods that ravaged elements of Mozambique and South Africa within the yr 2000.
“Shortly after being born, Jessica will need to have been swept downstream and fortunately, we discovered her nonetheless alive and intact on the banks of the Blyde River, close to our residence,” Tonie remembers.
“Once we received to her, she was weak and exhausted by the ordeal. She had no power. Realising that she wanted assist, I picked her up and noticed she was only some hours outdated as she nonetheless had the umbilical wire connected to her.
“She wanted milk urgently, however being so small, we couldn’t feed her cow’s milk. I rapidly ready a method, which consisted of egg yolk, cream and full cream cow’s milk to create an alternative choice to colostrum. To our shock, she took to the teat of the bottle greedily, and will hardly get sufficient of my method.”
At 16 kg’s and 30 cm tall on the shoulder, it was the smallest hippo they’d ever seen. Over a 24-hour interval she needed to eat 10% her physique mass in milk (1.6 litres) – for sure Tonie and Shirley had their palms full.
“Jessica’s probabilities of survival within the wild have been very slim and we realised that it might be much more merciful to see the journey by way of, than to only let nature take its course, and so she turned a part of our household,” says Shirley.
When the time got here to wean Jessica, they experimented with varied teas, however the one one she took to was Rooibos.
“To this present day, she’ll solely drink Rooibos and prefers to take it heat with a little bit of brown sugar. She has it for breakfast, lunch and supper, and at all times nudges us for it simply earlier than bedtime. It helps her to fall peacefully asleep on the veranda with our 5 English bull terriers – her highest mates.”
Weighing a modest 1 400 kg, Jessica maintains her determine by grazing on grass, consuming 5 kg of carrots and apples every, together with a loaf or two of bread.
With greater than 100 movies to her title, she have to be probably the most documented animals on the planet. She additionally starred in Leon Schuster’s blockbuster film, Mr Bones. She has her personal fan web page and celebrities from throughout come to satisfy her.
Tonie says vacationers get pleasure from feeding her on prime of a raft on the river or by the jetty. “We give them every a heat bottle of Rooibos and well-prepared candy potatoes minimize into slices, which she merely can’t resist.
“She is a pricey pal and could be very protecting over us. Whereas hippos are recognized to be aggressive, Jessica is so light and sort.
“In 2012, we adopted one other hippo, referred to as Richie, who is precisely like Jessica. They each love Rooibos, watching tv and listening to music with us. We have to be the one folks on earth dwelling with hippos,” chuckles Tonie.
In accordance with the SA Rooibos Council (SARC), the brew is without doubt one of the most sought-after natural tisanes not solely due to its excessive stage of antioxidants, however for its alkalising advantages too.
Marthane Swart, secretariat of the SARC says that’s why Rooibos is a core ingredient in lots of pet meals.
“With regards to the well being of your pets, it’s very important to make sure the appropriate pH stability. An alkaline atmosphere permits your pets’ organs, tissues and immune system to thrive. Animals can even profit from Rooibos’ health-giving properties by merely pouring it over their meals or giving it to them to drink.
“The number of antioxidants and bioflavonoids make Rooibos an essential each day complement for each pets and people,” remarks Swart.
WATCH High Billing explores Limpopo & meets Jessica the hippo
Extra data on Jessica the Hippo: http://www.jessicahippo.com/
