{shortcode-e07b638d083dd7683b2d34ac243754e946493cf3}

The internet’s latest darling is Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo born in Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo in July. Since then, the zoo has plastered Moo Deng’s chubby face all over numerous social media platforms. From there, Moo Deng — whose name translates to “bouncy pork” — took the world by storm.

The obligatory jokes and fawning adoration popped up throughout the vast online ecosystem. For more capitalistically minded accounts, Moo Deng’s youthful flush and captivating personality were an opportunity to sell everything from makeup to cryptocurrency. A voting organization called Vote.pa even made a “Vote With Moo Deng” graphic that teaches viewers how to use mail-in ballots in the state of Pennsylvania.

Despite this overwhelming success, Bouncy Pork couldn’t keep the tragic past of her species offline. In a somber turn of events, Moo Deng’s sudden appearance in the public consciousness has been coupled by an accompanying awareness of an endangered species. With fewer than 2,500 grown individuals living in the wild, pygmy hippos are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

Even hippos in captivity like Moo Deng aren’t entirely safe. After the pygmy’s meteoric rise to fame, visitors flocked to her zoo in the tens of thousands. Some of them viewed Moo Deng from afar, cooing and maybe learning a thing or two about her kind. Others got out of control, reportedly throwing water and other objects at her. Fortunately, the zoo took steps to ensure her safety, and her visitors are now limited to five-minute viewing windows on the weekends.

Even with these restrictions, people still find themselves drawn back to her presence, both in person and online. The secret to her star-level charisma is elusive. Some attribute it to her chaotic energy. Viewers never know whether they’ll be treated to a mini moonwalk or spontaneous nip at her trainer.

Others point to her adorable features. Her endearing roundness and peculiar, perpetual moistness make it hard to take one’s eyes off her. Perhaps it’s a combination of the two. It seems like many aspire to be as unbothered, moisturized, and happy as Moo Deng. In that sense, this singular pygmy hippo — Bouncy Pork at her finest — isn’t the hero people deserve, but the one they need.

—Staff writer Giselle P. Acosta can be reached at giselle.acosta@thecrimson.com.