Get to know Moo Deng, the Thai baby hippo that’s taken the internet by storm

It is not an exaggeration to say that we would take a bullet for Moo Deng. The pygmy hippo has become an internet sensation for her adorable antics. Here’s everything you need to know to get to know her better.

Get to know Moo Deng, the Thai baby hippo that is going viral

‘Twas a warm summer month when little Moo Deng was born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The pygmy hippo was born on July 10, 2024 to parents Jonah and Tony, and is the seventh of their offspring. Her name was chosen through a public vote, to which over 20,000 selected the name Moo Deng.

In Thai, “moo deng” translates directly to “bouncy pork.” It is a form of minced pork kneaded to give it a bouncy texture, and used commonly with noodle dishes, tom yum, and more — a fitting name for the adorable, bouncy pygmy hippo.

Moo Deng: A star is born

It is hard to pinpoint which photo made her go viral, as Moo Deng’s antics in photo form were first posted on Khao Kheow Open Zoo’s Facebook page, and are now spread all over social media, prominently on Twitter (also known as X). People have found joy, humour, and in many cases, relatability.

Ever since Moo Deng has been catapulted into stardom, the zoo’s number of daily visitors reportedly doubled in early September, 2024. The zoo announced that they have limited-edition merchandise featuring our baby girl, including pants and shirts, in production.

moo deng is a lifestyle icon and i need all of yall to get onboard:

– inexplicably moist at all times
– slightly blurry in most photos
– probably screaming or sleeping
– round pic.twitter.com/VtgOPf1PAS

— House ⚔️ gf haver (@mrmatthouse) September 11, 2024

Moo Deng vs. the world (of unruly visitors)

Is Moo Deng the Britney Spears of the animal kingdom? While not on the cover, the adorable creature even made it into TIME magazine, and has featured in a beauty campaign for Sephora Thailand.

However, stardom is not without its thorns. Videos surfaced of visitors pelting objects at Moo Deng inside the hippo enclosure to wake her up, and splashing her with water to make her move. This made netizens become concerned with Moo Deng’s safety, condemning those visitors’ actions, while calling for the zoo to increase security.

As a result, Khao Kheow Open Zoo threatened legal action against those harassing Moo Deng, and installed security cameras around the enclosure.

Update 17 September 2024: Limit on visiting times and other regulations

Due to the virality of Moo Deng, the zoo reports 700-800 visitors during weekdays, and up to 6,000-7,000 during weekends. In order to accommodate the number of people, and to ensure the pygmy hippo’s safety, the zoo has enacted the following policies:

• A maximum of five minutes of viewing time with groups capped at 30-50 people
• New pathway to encourage and lead visitors to see other attractions after seeing Moo Deng
• The enclosure is now equipped with security cameras
• Warning signs in Thai, English, and Chinese to warn people about anti-animal cruelty law

A 24-hour livestream of our icon is also in the process, to be launched on Zoodio, an animal-focused live-streaming platform where you can watch animals for a fee.

It should be noted that pygmy hippopotamuses such as Moo Deng are included within the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of endangered species, labelled as an endangered species with a decreasing population trend. The number of mature pygmy hippos in the wild is estimated to be fewer than 2,500 worldwide.

If you want to visit Moo Deng and other pygmy hippos, you can find out more information at Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

[Hero and featured image credit: Khao Kheow Open Zoo/Facebook]