Baby Hippo in Thailand Gets Official Song for Worldwide Fans

A baby hippopotamus in Thailand became famous earlier this year when zoo workers published images and videos of her online. Now the pygmy hippo, named Moo Deng, has an official song and video released in several languages for her fans worldwide.

Moo Deng lives at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, southeast of the Thai capital, Bangkok. Zoo worker Atthapon Nundee has been posting sweet moments of the animal's life for the past few months.

During that time, the hippo has received widespread attention on social media. Fans of the animal have expressed how they enjoy watching the pink-cheeked baby actively interact with her mother and other zoo workers.

Moo Deng – which means “bouncy pork” in Thai – is a kind of meatball. The name, chosen by fans on social media, is similar to those of her two siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). In addition, the zoo has a common hippo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).

Moo Deng's popularity has spread internationally and she has gained the attention of some professional sports teams. Fans say her name fits her lively personality. Moo Deng likes to “deng,” or bounce, and her bouncing behavior has led to countless internet memes.

For example, the German soccer team FC Bayern, American basketball team Phoenix Suns and the American football team Washington Commanders have all created Moo Deng memes. The images give her interesting things to wear and put her in different human-like situations.

Atthapon, the zoo worker, told The Associated Press he was surprised the newborn pygmy hippo quickly became such a huge internet star. “I wanted people to know her,” he explained. “I wanted a lot of people to visit her, or watch her online, or leave fun comments. I never would've thought (of this),” he added.

The widespread publicity led a well-known Thai composer to write and produce a special song for Moo Deng. The lively, 50-second song is called, naturally, Moodeng. One of Thailand's biggest recording companies, GMM Music, released the song.

A music video that goes along with the song shows the baby hippo bouncing around, playing with her keeper or spending time with her mother, Jona.

Moo Deng is now four months old. She has also been drawing big crowds at the zoo. Officials estimated the baby hippo has brought in about 3,000 to 5,000 visitors a day on average during the past few months. The zoo has been selling clothes, bedding and other products based on Moo Deng.

The zoo's director is Narongwit Chodchoi. He told the AP that the additional earnings from Moo Deng will help the zoo's breeding programs for many endangered animals, like the pygmy hippopotamus. Illegal hunting and loss of habitat threatens the animal's existence. Pygmy hippos are native to West Africa. But experts say there are only 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild.

All four versions of the Moo Deng song are available on YouTube and on streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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bounce – v. to move up or away after hitting a surface

sibling – n. a brother or sister

personality – n. a set of emotional qualities that makes a person different from other people

meme – n. an idea, image, video, etc. that spreads very quickly on the internet

breed – v. reproduce

habitat – n. the natural environment an animal or plant usually lives in