The zoo’s common updates about Moo Deng have triggered a wave of adoration and memes on-line, with posts dubbing the “chubby” little hippo a “way of life icon” racking up tons of of 1000’s of likes and shares.
At the very least one cosmetics chain agreed. Sephora Thailand informed its social media followers to “put on your blush like a child hippo” in posts selling blusher.
Followers have additionally made muffins in Moo Deng’s picture, memes evaluating it to Jesus, and stylised cartoons that includes vibrant eyes and rosy cheeks.
“She’s very energetic and her cute look is soothing,” the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo mentioned on X after a Japanese TV crew visited the zoo to report on Moo Deng’s celeb standing.
The calf is a pygmy hippo, typically referred to as a dwarf hippo, which is native to West Africa however more and more uncommon resulting from habitat loss.
The Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the animal as endangered and specialists estimate that there are fewer than 3000 left within the wild.
Moo Deng lives within the Thai zoo with its siblings, whose names are additionally variations of widespread pork dishes: Moo Wan (candy pork), Pha Lor (pork stomach stew) and Moo Tun (stewed pork).
Telegraph, London