One of the best parts of being online is looking at cute animals. Kittens are the cornerstone of the internet, no question. But trust me — the cute animals of the internet aren’t limited to kittens. There are no limits to what animal will capture people next. Case in point: If you’ve been on Twitter/X at all since mid-July, you’ve probably seen memes of Moo Deng, the most adorable hippo ever.
Moo Deng — whose name means “bouncy pig,” and is also the name of a common Thai pork dish — has taken over Twitter/X. With a toothless mouth, big round eyes, and a chubby face, her cuteness is hard to argue (unless you have a fear of hippos, I guess). But where did this adorable hippo come from?
According to CNN Bangkok, Moo Deng is a Pygmy Hippopotamus who lives in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in eastern Thailand. After Moo Deng born earlier this summer, a caretaker at the zoo started posting photos and videos of her on social media, and since then, she has turned into something of a child star, with hilarious memes about the adorable hippo popping up all over people’s timelines. The highlight of these pictures and videos has got to be her silly antics and snippy attitude toward her caretaker, as she’s usually trying to either chase or bite them. There are also clips of her trying to eat some of her mother’s food, adorably struggling due to her aforementioned lack of teeth.
Moo Deng is all over the internet, and unlike with most it-girls of the moment, no one is claiming her fame is overhyped. If anything, Twitter/X just can’t get enough.
me liking every moo deng post on the tl
— sim (@__sim0ne_) September 13, 2024
me liking every moo deng postpic.twitter.com/6j3wEh2V6P
— Ryuga❤️🖤 (@cchotatao) September 13, 2024
Today was ass, but at least there’s moo deng
— Julia Hansen (@coolia_handsome) September 17, 2024
However, it’s not all fun and games within the Moo Deng fandom. Since her rise to fame, the number of people visiting the Khao Kheow Open Zoo has grown exponentially, many of them there just to see her. On the surface, this might seem sweet, but according to NBC, some people have tried to throw things into her enclosure, and her caretakers have become concerned. “These behaviors are not only cruel, but also dangerous,” zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi told NBC. “We must protect these animals and ensure that they have a safe and comfortable environment.”
Moo Deng’s particular breed of hippo is considered endangered, and there are only approximately 3,000 of them left in their natural habitat. So, in order to protect Moo Deng, the zoo had to take steps to limit visitation at Moo Deng’s enclosure to only weekends, and for limited periods of time per person. TBH, it’s giving Mona Lisa: a work of art who is super small in real life and needs to be protected!
Suffice to say, Moo Deng is a new child star, and hopefully she grows up well adjusted. One can only hope the fame doesn’t go to her cute little head.