If you read this article’s title and didn’t find yourself asking, “WTF is a house hippo?” then congratulations (and condolences)! You’re part of the populace that is chronically online enough to not only understand the reference, but you’re also probably familiar with the adorable and ungovernable pygmy hippo born in July. Moo Deng was born into captivity at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri, Thailand, to proud parents Jona and Tony. She’s their 7th baby, but by far the most attention-stealing of all her siblings. Her grumpy and unmanageable ways have taken the internet by storm, which begs the question: why are we all so obsessed with her?
You might think it’s because we, too, wish we could get away with biting our keepers and being praised for it. But it’s actually far simpler than that—she’s just stinking cute. She triggers the part of our brain that reacts to "cute aggression" while also activating the side that hunts for shiny things, like a crow on the lookout for trinkets. Pictures of Moo Deng feel like treasures we’ve unearthed online, and we simply must share them with our friends—we can’t help it.
(…A few major brands should make more of an effort, though. One simply doesn’t use our favorite internet animal to make a buck, but more on that later.)
Memes have become life rafts in the ocean of bad news that constantly floods our feeds, especially those starring cute animals. Moo Deng is a prime example: she’s a hippo, but a pygmy one, so to the uneducated observer, she looks like a mini version of the much larger, dangerous animal we’re conditioned to fear. (Hi, hippos have a reputation for being one of the most dangerous animals on the planet for a reason—they flip boats for fun!) But then there’s Moo Deng: tiny, grumpy, and completely oblivious to the fact that she’s little. She’s going to do what she wants, and the citizens of the internet are here for it.
In a news cycle inundated with climate disasters, endless political buffoonery that harms real humans, and the constant sharing of bad things happening to good people, Moo Deng sparks joy. Her 24/7 livestream has become one of the more popular hangouts online, and the memes that have sprung from her antics are top-tier.
By this, the year of our TSwift 2024, we’re all very aware that the internet is largely for sharing cats. Tardar Sauce—may she rest in peace—taught us that pop culture must have one meme queen to rule them all, and she must be adorable, distracting, and, of course, a bit of a grouch. Moo Deng more than fits the bill. And since she’s still a young child in animal terms, watching her learn how to be the best pygmy hippo she can be provides everyone plugged into the 24-hour news cycle with some much-needed escapism. With everything happening worldwide (see above: bad things happening to good people), taking a mental break from the information onslaught is necessary. Knowing how to find some minor escapism in the form of a cute baby pygmy hippo is practically a survival skill at this point.
And yet… as soon as the internet populace latches onto something fun that makes everyone happy, capitalism shows up, ready to ruin the moment—not demure, not mindful, just annoying. Very annoying. McDonald’s, various professional sports teams, and gaming brands like Xbox have all tried to capitalize on Moo Deng’s popularity and, like… could you not? When brands co-opt trends that we’re enjoying as a distraction from reality, it ruins the moment, and we all move on sooner than we otherwise would have—and we don’t want that for our pygmy princess.
For now, though, Moo Deng is here. She’s adorable, she’s ungovernable, and her name essentially translates to "meatball" in English. Let us rejoice in this little meatball’s reign over the internet for as long as we can.
