It’s always fun to be introduced to new adorable animals, but Moo Deng is unlike anything you’ve seen before. This pigmy hippo from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand became the internet’s latest “it girl” after her videos became a viral sensation on social media.
Moo Deng was born back in July, and her zookeeper Atthapon Nundee made it his personal mission to make her famous. He started sharing adorable videos that perfectly captured the baby hippo’s adorable spirit, but even he was taken by surprise by how popular she would become, not just in Thailand, but all around the world.
Two months later, Moo Deng was already a bonafide superstar, with her own crypto coin, fan art, toys, and merchandise. She even got her own sketch on Saturday Night Live, and her enormous popularity inspired the Khao Kheow Open Zoo to share a 24/7 live stream online.
Moo Deng’s name means “bouncy pork” in Thai, and it was chosen in an online poll by over 20,000 voters. Many of them even came to see her in person, after her popularity attracted thousands of new visitors to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The increase in visitors eventually prompted the zoo authorities to introduce new safety measures, including the five-minute limit on visits to Moo Deng.
