Hippo Birthday: Thai Internet Sensation Moo Deng Turns One

ETVBHARAT

Thailand's famous pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrated her first birthday with a four-day zoo festival, attracting fans, influencers and a $3,000 cake sponsor.

Transcript

00:00In Chonburi, Thailand, a little hippo just turned one. Her name is Moodeng, and she is not your

00:14average hippo. Born at the Khao Kho Open Zoo, Moodeng quickly became a global sensation.

00:22With her tiny frame, pinkish skin and bouncy energy, she captured hearts around the world.

00:29Her name means Bouncy Pork in Thai, a nickname that fits her playful charm. From the moment

00:39she appeared online, Moodeng became a viral star, earning over 5 million social media followers

00:45and launching a wave of memes, merchandise and even popsicles.

00:49She's really special to me. She makes me happy and I think I've been a little bit obsessed

00:56with her ever since I first saw her on the internet being a little chaos, rage potato. I had to

01:04come for her birthday and the zoo was super nice. I would challenge them to take a look

01:09at the crowd today, the amount of people who still turned up for her first birthday. She's

01:14not going anywhere. She's an icon, a legend.

01:19On her first birthday, fans travelled from near and far. Some took time off work. One fan

01:26even flew from Malaysia, calling Moodeng a chaos rage potato. Another paid $3,000 to sponsor her

01:35birthday cake, a colourful tar of watermelon, corn and dragon fruit.

01:40I was like this long ago. He is equally interested in India. He is so happy, but it did

01:45have all of them. There were still people who are watching. Maybe when this

01:49comes to America, in May 3 years, I was like to live for the world in a

01:52long time. Yeah, it's a very different experience. I don't know. But I

01:56really recognize that it seems that when companies get into such a

02:08The zoo hosted a four-day festival in her honor, complete with lectures, cake cutting, and meet and greets.

02:21Hundreds lined up for a five-minute glimpse of the hippo they'd only seen on screens.

02:26But Mudeng isn't a baby anymore.

02:30Emotional, she's growing up.

02:32It was so much fun to see.

02:34When we first got here, she ate in the morning, and then she's kind of been in the water.

02:38Ever since, and I was hoping she'd come back out, but she was kind of hesitant at first with the cake.

02:43So I was like, oh my gosh, come on, diva.

02:45And then she finally came out, and now you can see just how much joy and happiness she's bringing everybody right now.

02:50All the smiles, all the laughter, like any time she opened her mouth when she first came out, it was like, ah!

02:55And it's just, she brings everybody together, and it was so special to get to watch her on her first birthday.

03:01She's grown from five kilograms at birth to over 93 kilograms today.

03:06Her clumsy bouncing has given way to long naps and lazy swims.

03:11I wish her healthy and happy and be as she wants.

03:20We don't want she to be as we want, but we want her to be as she wants and be herself.

03:29Everyone will love her and everyone will get power from her.

03:33Still, her handlers say she lights up when fans gather.

03:39And even if her fame has faded a little, her legend remains.

03:44Mooteng reminds us how joy can come from the simplest things, a small face, a big splash, and a moment of happiness.

03:51She may not stay in the spotlight forever, but for her fans, she'll always be a star.

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