Thailand's famous hippo, Moo Deng, celebrates her first birthday
Crowds have been invited to a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng — meaning "Bouncy Pork" in Thai — frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media fans.
The first day of the extravaganza falls on a Thai public holiday and the agenda includes a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness" while a skincare beautician has paid $4,500 to sponsor her fruit-festooned cake.
Her handlers are also scheduled to auction off her belongings — but it is unclear what possessions Moo Deng has accumulated in her short life at the Chonburi province zoo.
There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa, with only about 2,500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September last year before dramatically declining.
"Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University.
Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise including piggy banks and popsicles — prompting her owners to trademark her likeness.
The pint-sized pygmy hippo quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where her small and sparse enclosure was once broadcasted by a 24/7 live stream.
Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity for their cuteness online, including Melbourne's Pesto the penguin.
Pygmy hippos have a life span of between 30 and 50 years.
While Mr Dale predicts she may lose the limelight to longevity, he says Moo Deng could enjoy enduring appeal as fans recall "how unbearably cute she was when she was very, very small and just born".
AFP
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