A to Z of 2024: Zoo baby star Moo Deng takes over the internet

SINGAPORE – For users scrolling through TikTok, X and Instagram, one animal has emerged as the undisputed star of 2024: Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippopotamus at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand.

Born on July 10, Moo Deng – whose name translates to “bouncing pig”, a Thai meatball dish – catapulted into internet meme status when images of her shared by the zoo went viral in September.

One of Moo Deng’s Singaporean fans, Mr Kishore Kalaichalvan, a 26-year-old who works in a think tank, says he fell in love with the pygmy hippo in September, when the zoo held a public poll to decide on her name.

“That’s why I refer to her as the people’s princess, since people who managed to take part in voting chose the name for her,” he adds. “Also, her looking distressed all the time is very relatable.”

For many users, her squealing and biting antics showed an adorable mixture of impotent rage and endearing helplessness, especially when hangry.

In one post on X garnering more than six million views, a user described her as a style icon because she is “inexplicably moist at all times”, “round” and “probably screaming or sleeping”.

“Moo Deng is such an icon because she’s everything we’re afraid to be, but secretly aspire to,” says Singaporean Tatyana Kromli, a 28-year-old public relations executive, who fell in love with the “gloriously unhinged” baby hippo because she is “completely unapologetic and living life entirely on her own terms”.

Such is this baby animal’s cultural influence that The New York Times has declared her a style icon, putting Moo Deng on its list of 63 most stylish people of 2024.

In a separate article, Time Magazine wrote of her new-found fame: “She’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment.”

Moo Deng even appeared on sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, portrayed by American comedian Bowen Yang, in a skit satirising the price of fame and comparing celebrities to zoo animals.

This fame has also translated to some real-world influence, as Moo Deng has become a major draw for Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

According to the Bangkok Post, the zoo’s daily attendance increased from 800 to 900 visitors a day to 3,000 to 4,000 on weekdays and more than 10,000 on weekends.

However, instances of harassment have prompted the zoo’s director to issue a plea for better visitor behaviour, urging guests to refrain from throwing objects and to treat the zoo’s animals with respect.

The pygmy hippopotamus is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, with fewer than 2,500 remaining worldwide as at 2015.

While 2024 was Moo Deng’s year, 2025 might see her outshone by other zoo baby stars waiting in the wings.

These include Junjun, a bear cub in a Shanghai zoo; Pesto, a fat king penguin at the Melbourne Aquarium; and a three-year-old golden tiger named Ava at the Chiang Mai Night Safari.