Child rearing comes in countless forms, and every parent has their own set of morals they strive to pass on to their children to ensure future success. Of course, some parents do an exemplary job of it while others fall short.
Some parents, like Tippi Degre’s mother and father, however, raise kids in an environment completely unlike the norm. Despite the list of potential problems, in Tippi’s case, she considers herself fortunate to have such a unique backstory.
Like any mother and father, Tippi Degre’s parents wanted to impart important values to their daughter. During the first 10 years of her life, Tippi learned a level of respect for nature most adults don’t even have.
This was entirely due to the environment she was raised in. After she entered the world in June 1990, her parents, Sylvie and Alain, raised her in Namibia around tons of exotic wildlife.
Tippi was named after actress Tippi Hedren who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, which made sense considering the role animals played in her life from the very beginning. Early on, she even made a four-legged best friend.
At the ripe age of one, she met — and immediately embraced — an elephant named Abu, and the two were instantly smitten with each other. She also became quite close with another animal.
She and a leopard adopted by a local farmer spent a lot of time together. The cat was never aggressive towards Tippi, but of course, her parents made sure she knew the repercussions of mistreating the animals.
While most other kids in the world are taught the dangers of talking to strangers or looking both ways before crossing a street, Tippi had deadly predators to look out for. But, she knew full-well how to carry herself.
