Even though they live worlds away, baby Moo Deng and Pesto have taken the globe by storm and united the internet with their chubby cuteness and spunky personalities.
One month ago, born in Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Moo Deng, a baby Pygmy hippopotamus, rose to explosive fame. Her caretaker, a man named Atthapon Nundee, noticed early on and thoroughly enjoyed Moo Deng’s feisty character, deciding to post videos on the internet for others to enjoy as well. Of course, they did enjoy them. As with anything on the internet, people started making edits of the baby Pygmy hippo, which garnered millions of likes and solidified Moo Deng as the internet’s “it” girl.
The obsession might stem from her being a “mood”: always sleeping, eating, bothering her mom (Jona), and constantly trying to bite her caretaker (even though she’s toothless) while he’s trying to bathe her. She’s so relatable. I mean, you can’t spell Moo Deng without mood. On the other hand, her best friend, Pesto, is quite the opposite in terms of character, but still charming in his own way.
Nine-month-old Pesto was born in Australia’s Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, where he rose to stardom for his…slightly unconventional size. Even though he’s still a baby, Pesto is already at 46 pounds, which is unheard of seeing as King penguins typically weigh around 20-30 pounds when they reach adulthood. Pesto’s not even a year old. It’s quite astonishing.
Coupled with his hefty weight, Pesto’s also covered with a fluffy coating of black fur, which accentuates his chubby figure and highlights his cuteness. Like Moo Deng, videos and edits of him have circulated the internet, particularly Tiktok, where they’ve given him the nickname: “fluffy king.” There, Pesto can be seen towering over his mom and chasing her around their habitat. It’s silly to see him shyly following her around, but at the end of the day, he’s still her baby — just a not-so-slightly big baby.
There’s also a video of Pesto trying to make himself smaller so he can find warmth between his mom’s feet, but he just ends up lying beside her. He, like Moo Deng, is so relatable — just a big mama’s boy, who eats his weight in fish. No wonder he and Moo Deng are besties; they’ve wrapped everyone around their imaginary chubby little fingers.
It’s been an interesting and fun time watching people around the world pledge their loyalty to Moo Deng and Pesto. Ever since I saw an edit of them to Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli xcx, I certainly have. I hope Moo Deng continues to sleep away her days and for Pesto to eat pounds upon pounds of fish. It’s what they deserve as the internet’s “it” girl and boy.