Moo Deng makeup, memes, viral videos: How the world fell in love with a pygmy hippo

“How is anyone supposed to get a full night of sleep when you can grab your phone and watch the 24/7 live feed of Moo Deng?” writes an X user, Austin, in a tweet. His post also features a picture of the Internet’s latest celebrity crush – who, by the way, is neither an actor, politician, nor sports personality, but a two-month-old pygmy hippo born in Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
The tweet echoes the sentiment of the world, which simply cannot get enough of the innate cuteness of this baby pygmy hippo.

Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng plays with the zookeeper in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. (Photo: AP)

She often bites (pretends to) her zookeeper, loves bouncing around, mimics her mother, and is basically a ‘mood’ with many moods. Other adorable videos feature the newborn mammal struggling to climb up the slanted edge of its pool or randomly falling because of its slippery body.
Mischievous, playful, angry, sassy, and innocent – Moo Deng is all of these at once. Oh, and cameras don’t bother her! Moo Deng’s expressions, which range from angry-cute to a sassy straight face, make her extremely relatable. When not enjoying belly rubs or sleeping, Moo Deng is a ‘fighter girl’, with her mouth wide open as if angrily yelling or trying to scare you away.
The baby hippo’s expression range is so vast that its pictures alone can describe various zodiac personalities.
The glazed grey petite hippo with blush-pink cheeks is the reason why the visitor count at the aforementioned Thai zoo has tripled.
Moo Deng, whose internet-approved name translates to ‘bouncy pork,’ is already a pop sensation with fan pages across social media platforms, a 24/7 live stream, and even an article in Time magazine. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it wins the ‘Person of the Year’ title. For now, Moo Deng is the biggest meme of the moment!
Moo Deng’s impact on pop culture is not limited to being a meme template; there are cakes, latte art, clothing, and even makeup tutorials inspired by Moo Deng. Moo Deng makeup is the newest bizarre trend in beauty, involving a glazed look complete with peachy-pink blush.
Cosmetic company Sephora used a Moo Deng reference to advertise a few blush products in Thailand.
Moo Deng’s ever-growing fame has led the zoo authorities to take legal action. They are in the process of copyrighting and trademarking ‘Moo Deng the hippo’ to prevent anyone else from commercialising the animal.
“After we do this, we will have more income to support activities that will make the animals’ lives better,” zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi told news agency Associated Press.
The zoo is all set to sell a line of Moo Deng merchandise, including shirts and pants, with proceeds going towards its breeding programmes for endangered species. Moo Deng also belongs to the endangered pygmy hippopotamus species, which is native to West Africa, with only 2,000 to 3,000 remaining in the world.
The day Moo Deng was born, zookeeper Atthapon Nundee decided to make it go viral. But he himself could have never imagined the unstoppable frenzy the baby pygmy hippo has created all around the globe.

All thanks to Moo Deng’s popularity, visitors count at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, in Thailand, has more than tripled. (Photo: AP)

“The moment I saw Moo Deng born, I set a goal to make her famous, but I never expected it would spread abroad. I thought she could be famous in Thailand, but not internationally,” Nundee told The Guardian. Cute videos posted on the zoo’s official social media pages, captured by him, perfectly showcase Moo Deng’s cute yet chaotic energy.
In some clips, she can be seen squirming as Nundee tries to bathe it, or playfully attempting to bite his knee – a moment that has become quite famous.

Moo Deng plays with a zookeeper in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Photo: AP)

In August, the zoo ran a poll to choose a name for the now-viral pygmy hippo. The options were Moo Deng, Moo Daeng, and Moo Sap, accompanied by a minute-long video of the “fat kid.” The poll gained widespread attention after content creator Yammi Saracino reposted the tweet in English, making it go viral.
However, with all this popularity, Moo Deng has also become a target of harassment. There are videos of people throwing water on Moo Deng, who mostly wakes up to play for about two hours a day. The hippo area in the zoo now has a warning sign against throwing things at the viral sensation. Cameras have also been installed to monitor the area.
The zoo director told AP that they will take action under the animal protection law if people mistreat the animal. However, he mentioned that they haven’t seen anyone doing it again after the videos of people mistreating Moo Deng received severe backlash online.
In case you don’t have any plans this weekend, you know what to do – scroll through Moo Deng’s videos on social media. Wide smiles, a happier heart and relatable memes guaranteed!