'Hippo Birthday': Thailand's Moo Deng marks one year old
Crowds have been invited to a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng – meaning "Bouncy Pork" in Thai – frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media fans.
The first day of the extravaganza falls on a Thai public holiday and the agenda includes a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness" while a skincare beautician has paid US$3,000 (S$3,800) to sponsor her fruit-festooned cake.
Her handlers are also scheduled to auction off her belongings – but it is unclear what possessions Moo Deng has accumulated in her short life at the Chonburi province zoo a two-hour drive from Bangkok.
There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa with only around 2,500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September last year before dramatically declining.
"Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University.
"Maybe part of our appreciation of cuteness is knowing that it's something that doesn't last very long," he told AFP.
Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise including piggy banks, party shirts and popsicles – prompting her owners to trademark her likeness.
The pint-sized pachyderm quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where her small and sparse enclosure was once broadcasted by a 24/7 livestream.
Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity for their cuteness online, including Australia's Pesto the penguin and China's Hua Hua the panda.
Pygmy hippos have a lifespan of between 30 and 50 years.
While academic Dale predicts she may lose the limelight to longevity, he says Moo Deng could enjoy enduring appeal as fans recall "how unbearably cute she was when she was very, very small and just born".
"That can kind of continue on and affect our relationship with cute things, even when they grow up," he said.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by สวนสัตว์เปิดเขาเขียว (@khaokheow.zoo)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Cleo Laine, British jazz singer who performed with Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, dies at 97
LONDON, 2025 -British jazz singer Cleo Laine, who performed with musical greats including Frank Sinatra and starred as an actor in London's West End and on Broadway, has died aged 97, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday, citing a statement from her children Jacqui and Alec. Born to an English mother and a Jamaican father in a suburb of London in 1927, she initially worked as a hair-dresser, a hat-trimmer and a librarian. She married in 1946 and had a son while still a teenager. Driven on by her dream of becoming a singer, she divorced and got her big break in 1951, when she joined the band of English saxophonist and clarinettist John Dankworth at 24. Dankworth's band decided her name was too long - at the time she thought she had been born Clementine Campbell, though a passport application later revealed her mother had used her own surname Hitching on the birth certificate. The men of the Dankworth Seven band thought her name was too cumbersome for a poster, and that her nickname Clem was too cowboy-like. They settled on a new stage persona for her by drawing "Cleo" and "Laine" from hats. In 1958, she and Dankworth married. Their home became a magnet for London's jazz set: friends included stars from across the Atlantic such as Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie. After acting as well as singing in Britain through the 1960s, Laine toured Australia in 1972 and performed at New York's Lincoln Centre. The recording of a further show, at Carnegie Hall, won her a Grammy. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Fine for couple whose catering companies owed $432,000 in salaries to 103 employees Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly Recordings included "Porgy and Bess" with Ray Charles. In 1992 she appeared with Frank Sinatra for a series of shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, but she was best known for her work with Dankworth's bands. He later became her musical director. The couple built their own auditorium in the grounds of their home near London and were friends with the late Princess Margaret, the sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Their two children went on to become musicians. Dankworth - who Laine described as being "joined at the hip" with her - died in 2010. Hours after his death, Laine performed a scheduled show in their auditorium, announcing the news about her husband only at the end of the concert. REUTERS
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
White House lashes out at US sitcom South Park's Trump parody
Find out what's new on ST website and app. South Park creators Matt Stone (left) and Trey Parker have been criticised by The White House after the bawdy satire skewered Mr Donald Trump. LOS ANGELES - The White House has lashed out at the creators of American animated sitcom South Park (1997 to present), after the bawdy satire skewered Mr Donald Trump in an episode featuring an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated version of the United States president crawling naked through a desert. In a no-holds-barred season premiere on July 23, the animated Trump character is also seen begging Satan for sex, only to be rebuffed – in part because his penis is too small. The White House was not amused. 'This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,' spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said on July 24. 'President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak.' The adult animated series, which frequently touches on hot-button issues in American life, is now in its 27th season and remains one of the world's most valuable TV shows. The season premiere begins with the foul-mouthed character Cartman appalled that American broadcaster NPR has been taken off the air by the president, while Randy, a parent, is disturbed by the presence of Jesus in public elementary school. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore HDB resale price growth moderates in Q2, more flats sold Singapore Etomidate found in blood of 2 people involved in fatal Punggol Road accident in May: HSA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Business Microsoft Singapore managing director Lee Hui Li dies while on sabbatical Singapore Private residential home prices up 1 per cent in Q2: URA Business Singapore factory output grows at faster pace of 8% in June, better than expected Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly Complaints to the fictional White House receive only a threat from Trump to sue the mountain town of South Park for billions of dollars. Meanwhile, animated Trump is threatening to bomb Canada 'like I did Iraq'. 'I thought you just bombed Iran,' the Canadian prime minister replies. 'Iran, Iraq, what the hell's the difference?' replies Trump. The episode, which sees the fictional Trump ride rough-shod over many aspects of American life, ends after the town of South Park makes a financial deal with the president that includes an agreement to make public service announcements. The AI-generated short that follows – ostensibly one of those announcements – shows an overweight Trump staggering through a desert as a narrator casts him as a latter-day Jesus. The short ends with a naked Trump as the narrator says: 'Trump. His penis is teeny-tiny, but his love for us is large.' Merger The episode aired days after creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone reportedly penned a US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) streaming deal with Paramount that gives the company global rights. The deal comes at a sensitive time for Paramount, which is trying to secure government approval for a multi-billion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance. The CBS parent caused a furore earlier in July when it agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit Mr Trump had brought over an interview which 60 Minutes, the storied current affairs programme, aired with his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris ahead of the presidential election in November 2024. The payment was criticised by Democrats as little more than a bribe to help smooth the merger, with Paramount initially dismissing Mr Trump's lawsuit as meritless. Last week, CBS sparked fury after it cancelled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert whose host is a pointed critic of the US president. The network insisted it was a financial decision, but opponents have painted the move as the latest example of American institutions bowing to Mr Trump. AFP
CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
'Moo Deng' escapes from Thai zoo in animal safety drill
Scroll up for the next video X 'Moo Deng' escapes from Thai zoo in animal safety drill
