Meet 'bouncy pork' MOO DENG! Viral pygmy hippo who's captured internet's heart

AFP

<img src='https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-img/img/2024/09/15/900x1600/moo_deng_1726405726463_1726405732716.jpg' width='720' height='1280' alt='moo_deng' style="position: relative; z-index: 0;"/> By HT Lifestyle Desk Published Sept 15, 2024 Hindustan Times Lifestyle <img fallback src='/res/images/logo.png' class=' img-fill elementStyle' width='1000' height='1000' alt='Hindustan Logo'/>

The two-month-old pint-sized creature went viral this week after her handlers posted videos of her on TikTok and Instagram from her home at a zoo in Chon Buri, Thailand.

Moo Deng -- whose name in Thai means "bouncy pork", a popular snack -- is now an unwitting poster child for the endangered pygmy hippo.

Hundreds of visitors queued at the zoo for five minutes in the enclosure. One group said they woke up at 5:00 am to make the two-hour drive from Bangkok to see the celebrity.

Native to West Africa, the pygmy hippo is threatened by human activities, such as logging, mining and poaching, and there are only 2,000 to 2,500 left in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The zoo also plans to launch a line of Moo Deng merchandise next month.

AFP