Written by Have you heard of Moo Deng? She’s a baby hippo who quickly became famous online for her adorable and funny reactions. You might’ve even scrolled past her memes without realizing it – it certainly happened to me!
Her playful behavior, such as gently biting a zookeeper and mimicking her mom by pretending to eat solid food even though she’s too young for it, made her very popular.
Everyone just loves her for it. Many people have even created memes, and well-known brands joined the hype!
If you haven’t come across her yet, no worries. I’ll share more information about her and some photos as well.
So, Who is Moo Deng?
Moo Deng, a tiny pygmy hippo, was born on July 10, 2024, at the Khao Khew Open Zoo in Thailand. People first saw her on July 25, 2024, and many quickly loved her.
Her name, Moo Deng, comes from a Thai word for meatball called “bouncy pork.” The zoo staff chose this name through an online vote. But did you know that her brothers and sisters are named Moo Waan and Moo Toon, which mean “sweet pork” and “stewed pork.”?
Funny, right? There’s also another hippo at the zoo called Kha Moo, named after “stewed pork leg.”
The zookeeper, Attapon Nundee, began recording the animals he looked after during the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly loved Moo Deng the moment she was born. He wanted to make her well-known in Thailand but never thought she would become popular worldwide.
On September 6, 2024, Moo Deng joined Instagram and immediately won everyone over with her cuteness. Her videos have gotten millions of views online.
Some of Moo Deng’s funny moments include a photo of her as if she’s screaming as a zookeeper tries to pick her up or being scared while they bathe her with a hose.
Pygmy Hippos vs Common Hippos
But have you ever wondered if there’s a difference between pygmy hippos and common hippos? Well, yes, there are some pretty big differences!
The pygmy hippopotamus and the common hippopotamus are the only two types of hippos around today. There’s a big gap in how many of each type of hippo there are, too. While we’ve got around 115,000 to 130,000 common hippos, pygmy hippos are rarer, with approximately only 2,000 left in the wild.
Pygmy hippos are also much smaller than regular hippos and live in West Africa, in places like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast.
On the other hand, common hippos live in sub-Saharan Africa, near water places like rivers, lakes, and swampy areas with trees growing in water.
When you put these two kinds of hippos next to each other, you’ll see they’re not the same. Common hippos can be ten times heavier than pygmy hippos.
Pygmy hippos are smaller, weighing about 600 pounds (272 kg) and 6 feet long at most. On the other hand, common hippos can be huge, weighing up to 9,000 pounds (4082 kg) and 16.5 feet long!
Despite both being mostly plant-eaters, their diets can vary too. Pygmy hippos in the wild munch on grass and water plants. Those in zoos eat greens, veggies, and special “herbivore biscuits” for extra nutrients.
Common hippos mostly eat short grass but will also have fruit if they can find it. They also have big mouths with long, sharp teeth that can get up to 20 inches long! When they eat, hippos use their lips to grab grass and their teeth to rip it apart before they swallow it.
Here is a funny thing both types of hippos do that you might not know. When they poop, they spin their tails like a sprinkler to spread it around. Watch out for that at the zoo or on safari!
Effects of Moo Deng’s Fame
Moo Deng’s popularity has definitely brought in more visitors and money for the zoo. Narongwit Chodchoi, the zoo director, said that during the week, the Khao Khew Open Zoo now gets more than 4,000 visitors, which is a huge increase from roughly 800 people before. On the weekends, the visitor count has jumped to over 10,000 from around 3,000.
While Moo Deng’s fame has helped the zoo, it has also raised some concerns. Moo Deng, who is only active and playful for around two hours a day, faced poor treatment from a few visitors.
There have been instances where people tried to wake her up by splashing water or throwing things at her while she was asleep. Because of this, the zoo has put up signs in Thai, English, and Chinese, warning people not to throw anything at Moo Deng.
The zoo also installed security cameras around her space and warned of legal action against those who harassed her. The zoo also introduced a five-minute viewing limit for each visitor’s time at Moo Deng’s enclosure during weekends to better manage the crowds.
Narongwit stated they would use animal protection laws against anyone mistreating animals. After some incidents of poor treatment towards Moo Deng and the public backlash that followed, the zoo director said that such behavior hadn’t been seen again.
Before I end this post, here are some of the cutest and funniest Moo Deng memes I’ve seen.
