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People around the world are travelling to Thailand to celebrate the first birthday of baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng.
Moo Deng went viral in 2024, gaining a legion of online fans when her zookeeper Atthapon Nundee posted videos of her, showing how she spends her days at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand.
In the clips, baby Moo Deng, whose name means “bouncing pork” in Thai, did everything from playing and eating to sleeping and bathing.
She has earned millions of likes and followers on social media and has even inspired beauty trends based on her blushed and dewy appearance.
As she turned one on Thursday (10 July), the zoo decided to throw her a birthday party, and some of her fans even travelled internationally for the event.
According to the Bangkok Post, the zoo’s director Narongwit Chodchoy said they were expecting at least 20,000 visitors to attend the festivities on the first day of the four-day event, which runs up until Sunday (13 July).
During the birthday festivities on Thursday, Moo Deng was given a tropical fruit platter to munch on.
“She’s really special to me, she makes me happy,” Jennifer Tang, who was visiting from Malaysia, told AFP. She also described Moo Deng as a “chaos rage potato”.
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Thanks to Moo Deng’s stardom, visitor numbers at the zoo have tripled to 600,000, with the young hippo enabling them to secure sponsorship deals and create merchandise.
On social media, many fans wished Moo Deng a happy birthday.
“A GLOBAL HOLIDAY!!! Happy birthday Angel thank you for bringing so much joy and cuteness to the world,” one fan wrote.
Another wrote: “Happy Birthday. Spoil our favorite princess today!!”
Someone else said: “Happy birthday Moo Deng. You are loved around the world.”
Why not read…
‘Moo Deng? Who deng?’ – Edinburgh Zoo announces birth of Haggis the pygmy hippo
‘Terrifying’ Kirby the baby elephant tipped to be next Moo Deng
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