Bouncing into the world on July 10 2024, oinking and slinking, she was given the name ‘Moo Deng’ for her ‘deng’ (slippery and spring-loaded) nature. Born to mama Jonah and papa Tony, this little chaotic cannonball quickly graduated from family mascot to full-blown international heart-stealer. One year on, Moo Deng’s friends are throwing her a four-day ultimate birthday blowout.
From July 10-13, Khao Kheow Open Zoo will celebrate with candles on a special gigantic cake for our beloved baby hippo at the home she shares with many species of friends and family.
The celebration includes free entry for children under 12. There'll be an exclusive auction of Moo Deng’s personal belongings, keepsakes from the hippo who melted hearts between naps, with every baht bid going to sustainable animal care. Photo galleries will display hippo portraits like fine art, alongside merchandise galore and parades all celebrating our Moo Deng.
Who could have predicted that Thailand would find soft power in a waddling baby hippo with pink chubby cheeks? A slippery bounce here, a squeal there and suddenly, Thailand’s Chonburi is in the global consciousness.
Moo Deng singlepawedly carved her zoo and the surrounding region into the travel radar. Tourist buses now roll through roads that once mostly saw local traffic. Hotel bookings surge. Street vendors sell hippo-themed everything. Moo Deng has given Thailand a new kind of cultural currency, as tourism boards around the world scramble to see this 32-kilogram mammal with their own eyes. In an era of calculated influence, Moo Deng casually made memes multiply and videos rack up millions, all while remaining blissfully unaware of her empire – just a pygmy hippo who perfected the art of existing while launching a thousand tourist bookings in the process.
Updates and more information can be found on Khao Kheow Open Zoo