The Incredible Story of Tippi Degré, a Real Life Mowgli

The Incredible Story of Tippi Degré, a Real Life Mowgli

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Most of us know about “The Jungle Book” because we grew up with it, but even if you’ve never even read it, surely you have heard of Mowgli – a little boy who grew up with wild animals. While Mowgli is just a fictional character from the children’s books, Tippi Degré is a real person with an impressive and unbelievably life story.

Tippi Degré (born 4 June 1990) is a girl from France who has spent her childhood in Namibia among wild animals and local tribes. After moving to Paris, France, she again returned to Africa to film six documentaries for the Discovery Channel.

Now 25 years old, Tippie is daughter to French wildlife photographer parents, Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert. Her parent’s profession and their work in Africa made the young girl’s childhood unique, giving her the opportunity to interact with wild animals in incredible ways.

Tippi (a.k.a. a real life Mowgli) often could be seen sitting on an elephant, kissing reptiles, standing on one leg on a crocodile and proudly tossing her head while riding an ostrich. Her childhood friends were crows, leopard named J&B, an elephant, a crocodile, lion cubs, giraffes,  an ostrich, mongooses, a cheetah, a snake, a zebra, a few chameleons and some giant bull frogs.


The girl’s parents wrote a book about her childhood called “Tippi of Africa” which was published in 1998. They also made a documentary film “Bridging Gap to Africa”  after which the girl-Mowgli became popular.

Image credits: Sylvia Robert/Barcroft Media