Dinner time! The dinner bell rings and husbands, wives, kids, and the dogs come running! In South Africa, Jessica, the hippo, heads in for dinner too! Yes, a hippo – as in hippopotamus! Tonie and Shirley Joubert found Jessica when she was just a baby. Jessica and her hippo momma had been separated when Jessica was a newborn during some floods.

Now before you think oh, no another story of how people bring in an animal from the wild – this story is different. Jessica most likely had imprinted on Shirley when she was found, imprinting is a quick forming attachment. While Jessica may be in contact with humans, she is free to roam wherever she likes.

Jessica has hippo friends that she interacts with but unlike most hippos, she happens to have a human family she spends time with too! This is no ordinary hippopotamus! Share away, people!