CHONBURI, Thailand — Pudgy internet sensation Moo Deng turned 1 Thursday and, like a true icon, she remains unbothered, moisturized and happy in her lane.
Blissfully unaware of the fact that it was her big day, the pygmy hippo who launched a thousand memes wandered around her enclosure at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, took a few naps and munched on watermelon and vegetables, before she was hosed down for a shower.
Moo Deng, who will have four days of celebrations including a 44 pound hippo-sized cake, was unfazed by her celebrity status and the fact that some, like self-described “mooniac” Molly Swindall, had flown all the way from New York to celebrate.
“She’s an icon and everyone in the world loves her,” said Swindall, 24, who had the privilege of preparing a birthday breakfast for the hungry hippo. “It’s fun to see she’s her same old self,” she added. “Fame hasn’t changed her.”
“I love Moo Deng so much,” said Swindall, who was on her third trip to Thailand to see her favorite animal. “I think she brought so much joy to people when there was a lot of toughness and there’s still a lot of tough things going on in the world.”
She added that she had grown to love Thailand on her trips to the southeast Asian nation. “They’re so kind and happy and they have great pride in their country, as they should,” she said.
Flight attendant Thea Chavez also flew in from Houston for the big day. “Happy birthday, Moo Deng. Thank you so much for all the happiness you’ve given all the people and many more happy years and a long life ahead,” she said.
She was joined by Thai fan Rathapat Sripisit, who said in an interview Wednesday that she was planning to stay in a tent nearby so she could catch a glimpse of Moo Deng on her birthday.
“I want to come and celebrate,” she said, adding that she liked the fact that attention had been drawn to the zoo because of the slippery creature whose name means “Bouncing Pig” or “Pork Patty.”
“I am happy to see many people, families, and visitors from many countries come to visit us and visit her,” Sripisit said.
Moo Deng was named in a vote by more than 20,000 children and tourists on the Facebook page of the zoo in Chonburi, a city in eastern Thailand. She quickly became an internet sensation after her caretakers began uploading videos of her going about her day.
Just like any human celebrity, Moo Deng has dozens of fan pages on social media with pictures and videos capturing her every moment in public. Videos posted to TikTok and other social media sites have garnered tens of millions of views. She is so popular that her image was registered as a trademark in Thailand.
There is also a whole range of merchandise, from clothing to plush toys to her own cryptocurrency.
Attendance has quadrupled because of her, according to Narongwit Chodchoy, the zoo’s director.
Moo Deng has also boosted awareness of pygmy hippos, an endangered species that are smaller cousins of the hippopotamus and native to West Africa. An estimated 2,000 remain in the wild, according to The Pygmy Hippo Foundation.
Fortunately for her fans, Moo Deng will likely have a many more birthdays, since pygmy hippos can live up to 50 years.
Whether the stardom fades as she gets older and less bouncy isn’t clear.
For now, Moo Deng has fans, her mom and a party on her mind.
Then, probably, sleep.
