Current:Home > MarketsWho's that baby hippo on your timeline? Meet the wet, chubby 'lifestyle icon' captivating the internet -Capital Dream Guides
Who's that baby hippo on your timeline? Meet the wet, chubby 'lifestyle icon' captivating the internet
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:13:45
Oh, baby! A little hippo in Thailand has taken the internet by storm, becoming a viral sensation and even inspiring Sephora to post about blushes that will make people "blush like a baby hippo."
Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippopotamus at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in eastern Thailand about two hours from Bangkok, has the internet and the world in a chokehold with her chubby, pink cheeks, tummy rolls and adorable expressions.
The two-month-old, whose name means "bouncing pig" in Thai, has millions of fans on social media following her clumsy adventures, including trying to nibble her handler despite not having teeth.
Who is Moo Deng?
Moo Deng was born on June 10, to mother Jona, 25 and father Tony, 24, with two other siblings Pork Stew and Sweet Pork at the zoo in Chonburi, NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported. She is the seventh child born to the hippo couple and is also the sibling of Moo Toon, another famous hippo, Pattaya Mail reported. Moo Deng is also the granddaughter of Thailand's oldest hippo, Malee, who recently celebrated her 59th birthday. The median life expectancy of pygmy hippos is 27 years, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
Pygmy hippopotamuses are a small breed of hippopotamus that are native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. They are known to be solitary and nocturnal but can sometimes be found in small family groups. Adults grow up to two and half to three feet high and around five feet in length, weighing between 350-600 pounds. Pygmy hippos are now classified as endangered, the alliance said, with possibly less than 3,000 individuals remaining in their native habitat.
Zoo draws thousands of visitors
Moo Deng's internet-fame has also translated into real life celebrity fame with the zoo drawing thousands of visitors, who visit every day just to get a glimpse of her.
Director of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo Narungwit Chodchoy told Reuters the zoo normally gets around 800 visitors on any given day during the rainy season, "which is a low season." After Moo Deng catapulted to fame, the zoo is now getting 3,000 to 4,000 people on weekdays, and welcomed almost 20,000 visitors over the weekend, Chodchoy said, adding that most of them came just to see Moo Deng.
"Moo Deng fever means we will have organize better so all visitors can see her," Narungwit told the media outlet.
Narungwit has also issued strict orders against those who bother Moo Deng after videos of visitors throwing water and shells on the baby pygmy were shared to social media, according to Pattaya Mail. Staff presence has also been increased during peak hours and surveillance cameras have also been installed.
Moo Deng: 'A lifestyle icon'
Moo Deng has inspired several advertisements including by Sephora Thailand and the NBA's Utah Jazz, with internet users referring to her as a 'lifestyle icon."
Contributing: Reuters, Maria Francis, USA TODAY NETWORK
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
veryGood! (55)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Bumblebee Decline Linked With Extreme Heat Waves
- Stephen tWitch Boss' Autopsy Confirms He Had No Drugs or Alcohol in His System at Time of Death
- Andy Cohen Reveals the Vanderpump Rules Moment That Shocked Him Most
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Parkinson's Threatened To Tear Michael J. Fox Down, But He Keeps On Getting Up
- 'All Wigged Out' is about fighting cancer with humor and humanity
- Duke Energy Takes Aim at the Solar Panels Atop N.C. Church
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Draft Airline Emission Rules are the Latest Trump Administration Effort to Change its Climate Record
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $460 Tote Bag for Just $109
- Two Farmworkers Come Into Their Own, Escaping Low Pay, Rigid Hours and a High Risk of Covid-19
- Hundreds of sea lions and dolphins are turning up dead on the Southern California coast. Experts have identified a likely culprit.
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Legendary Singer Tina Turner Dead at 83
- In the Battle Over the Senate, Both Parties’ Candidates Are Playing to the Middle on Climate Change
- Ophelia Dahl on her Radcliffe Prize and lessons learned from Paul Farmer and her youth
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Exxon Reports on Climate Risk and Sees Almost None
Debt limit deal claws back unspent COVID relief money
Today’s Dylan Dreyer Shares Son Calvin’s Celiac Disease Diagnosis Amid “Constant Pain”
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Earth’s Hottest Decade on Record Marked by Extreme Storms, Deadly Wildfires
Earth’s Hottest Decade on Record Marked by Extreme Storms, Deadly Wildfires
Selling Sunset’s Bre Tiesi Confronts Chelsea Lazkani Over Nick Cannon Judgment