Thailand's hippo Moo Deng draws crowds at first birthday bash
Moo Deng, whose name means "bouncing pig" in Thai, became a global superstar last year, with images of her rosy cheeks and clumsily charming antics going viral online, inspiring fan art, merchandise, songs and memes around the world.
Thousands of visitors converged on the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, 100km south of the capital Bangkok, taking turns to see the bouncy baby hippo during a four-day birthday bash that included a photo exhibition, a charity auction and a parade.
"Moo Deng has made more people know about the zoo and they travel here, generating so much income for us - which allows us to improve the zoo a lot," said Atthapon Nundee, Moo Deng's caretaker at the zoo.
The zoo served Moo Deng and her 26-year-old mother, Jona, a 20kg "birthday cake" - which was a selection of tropical fruits carved in a Thai traditional style - that was carried into her enclosure by three zookeepers.
Some of Moo Deng's prized possessions were auctioned during the festivities, including a plastic bathtub that she had used since her birth. The tub sold for 50,000 baht (US$1,530) while a cast of her footprints went for 700,000 baht.
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CHONBURI, Thailand: Thailand's baby pygmy hippo and internet sensation Moo Deng celebrated her first birthday on Thursday (Jul 10), devouring a massive tropical fruit platter alongside her mother as throngs of adoring fans turned up for her four-day party. Moo Deng, whose name means "bouncing pig" in Thai, became a global superstar last year, with images of her rosy cheeks and clumsily charming antics going viral online, inspiring fan art, merchandise, songs and memes around the world. Thousands of visitors converged on the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, 100km south of the capital Bangkok, taking turns to see the bouncy baby hippo during a four-day birthday bash that included a photo exhibition, a charity auction and a parade. "Moo Deng has made more people know about the zoo and they travel here, generating so much income for us - which allows us to improve the zoo a lot," said Atthapon Nundee, Moo Deng's caretaker at the zoo. The zoo served Moo Deng and her 26-year-old mother, Jona, a 20kg "birthday cake" - which was a selection of tropical fruits carved in a Thai traditional style - that was carried into her enclosure by three zookeepers. Some of Moo Deng's prized possessions were auctioned during the festivities, including a plastic bathtub that she had used since her birth. The tub sold for 50,000 baht (US$1,530) while a cast of her footprints went for 700,000 baht.
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Visitors take photos of pygmy hippo Moo Deng at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. CHONBURI, Thailand - Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on July 10 , leaving behind the animal infancy which boosted her to worldwide internet fame for her cute antics. 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$3,840) 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 Prof 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. AFP
