Boo damn it
A tiny and adorable pygmy hippo named Moo Deng is melting hearts all over the world.
The miniature celebrity was born at the Khaow Kheow Open Zoo east of Bangkok, Thailand, and has steadily gone viral for her adorable appearance and fierce bitesHer name means “bouncing pig” in Thai, a reference to a popular pork dish in the country, and was chosen by tens of thousands of Facebook users in a poll last month.
Videos of Moo Deng have been viewed millions of times on X—formerly Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. She’s even received so much attention that her caretakers have had to restrict her visiting hours because NBC News reports.
“It is her natural cuteness and her behavior that attract tourists,” said zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy told CNNand added that overall visitor numbers have increased by at least 30 percent.
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Stop everything
According to the Pygmy Hippopotamus FoundationThere are an estimated 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the wild, spread across West Africa, most of them believed to be in Liberia.
Unlike their much larger cousin, the river hippo, pygmy hippos only grow to about 31 inches tall. They are also known to be shy, nocturnal herbivores. There is much about the animals that remains unknown, including seemingly basic information such as breeding seasons or their exact diet, according to the San Diego Zoo.
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Unfortunately they are officially listed as threatened because their natural habitat is being cut down or burned down. The rivers they visit are being polluted by human activity. In some areas they are even being hunted by bushmeat hunters.
The good news is that they reproduce well in captivity, according to the San Diego Zoo. And Moo Deng’s meteoric rise to fame could shed more light on ongoing conservation efforts.
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Given the dull and depressing news these days, we could all use a little more Moo Deng in our daily lives.
“As horrible as the world looks right now, I think it’s great that we can all come together and collectively love these hippolings,” one user said tweeted.
More about nature conservation: Scientists implant radioactive material into the horn of a living rhino to poison anyone who consumes it
