Moo Deng (, , ; born 10 July 2024) is a

pygmy hippopotamus The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small Hippopotamidae, hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Co ...

living in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in

Si Racha Si Racha (, ) is a subdistrict and town in Thailand on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok in Si Racha district, Chonburi province. The town is the center of the Si Racha district, the ninth-largest urban ci ...

Chonburi Chonburi (, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and, as part of the district Mueang Chonburi District, Mueang Chonburi, the List of municipalities in Thailand, seventh-largest city in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Ba ...

, Thailand. She became a popular

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

at two months of age after images of her

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

online in September 2024.

Background

Moo Deng was born on 10 July 2024 to parents Tony and Jonah. She has two full siblings (Nadet and Moo Tun) and four

half-siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

(Ko, Kanya, Phalo, and Moo Wan). The name ''Moo Deng'' was chosen through a public poll, with over 20,000 people voting for it. It translates to or in English.

Online popularity

Khao Kheow Open Zoo posted images of its

es on its official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page, and Moo Deng quickly became a fan favorite. Moo Deng is noted to be more playful and energetic than other hippopotamuses. In response to her popularity, the zoo began selling clothing and other merchandise featuring designs based on Moo Deng. Moo Deng inspired many pieces of fan art. Due to Moo Deng's viral online popularity, the number of daily visitors to the zoo doubled in early September 2024. Around this time, some visitors harassed the baby by splashing her with water or throwing objects at her to wake her up. As a result, the Khao Kheow Open Zoo installed security cameras around her enclosure. The zoo director threatened legal action against visitors who harassed her. The misbehavior by some visitors has been widely condemned online. The zoo also implemented a five-minute time limit for visitors in order to accommodate the high volume. In September 2024, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi announced that the zoo had begun the process of copyrighting and trademarking "Moo Deng the hippo" to raise funds for the zoo. The zoo also plans to launch a continuous

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

to allow fans to watch Moo Deng live over the Internet. On 28 September, Moo Deng was the subject of a ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' sketch. She was parodied by

Bowen Yang Bowen Yang (born November 6, 1990) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer. Yang was hired to join the writing staff of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in September 2018, ahead of its 44th season, and a year la ...

on ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

,'' and the character was used to satirize American pop-artist

Chappell Roan Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Camp (style), camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, ''School Nights'' (201 ...

's commentary on fame and political endorsements. In November 2024, the zoo posted a video showing Moo Deng choosing between two carved fruit dishes featuring the names of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

in what the zoo said was a prediction on who would win the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

. Moo Deng selected the fruit engraved with Trump's name, a prediction that ultimately came true. That same month,

GMM Grammy GMM Grammy Public Company Limited ( or stylized as G"MM' Grammy) is the largest media conglomerate entertainment company in Thailand. Top Grammy artists include Bird Thongchai, Silly Fools, Loso, Tai Orathai, Bie Sukrit, Tata Young, Mos Pa ...

released an official Moo Deng theme song composed by Mueanphet Ammara titled "Moodeng Moodeng!" in Thai, English, Chinese, and Japanese. In December 2024,

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published a

year-in-review {{Unreferenced, date=March 2020 A year-in-review is any sort of annual publication that covers the events of the past year from the perspective of the contributors to the publication. Years-in-review are often intended to highlight the highs and lo ...

-themed

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

video about the most searched topics of that year, with Moo Deng featuring in it. In February 2025, the coordinator for the Taï Hippo Project in Côte d’Ivoire, Elie Bogui reported that while the meme has gone viral, there had been no significant impact observed in terms of funding for pigmy hippo conservation and protection.

Welfare concerns

Animal welfare groups have expressed concern for Moo Deng. A spokesperson for

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights ...

(PETA) said, "She faces a lifetime of confinement," while

World Animal Protection World Animal Protection, formerly The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), is an international non-profit animal welfare organization that has been in operation since 1981. The charity's mission is to create a better world for an ...

said, "Sharing Moo Deng content might seem innocuous, but it promotes cruelty to animals." The zoo's director, Narongwit Chodchoi, rejected the allegations and maintained that the facility ensures the welfare and quality of life for more than 2,000 animals. The Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said that Moo Deng was well taken care of and that PETA was relying on "outdated" information.

References

External links

* {{Commons cat-inline 2024 animal births Individual animals in Thailand Individual hippopotamuses Internet memes about animals Internet memes introduced in 2024

Background

Online popularity

Welfare concerns

See also

References

Further reading

External links