The Year of the Babie: Moo Deng & Pesto | Graphic by Aiden Robillard | The Wright State Guardian
In recent months, two babies born in zoos have taken the internet, namely TikTok, by storm. Moo Deng the pygmy hippopotamus and Pesto the king penguin have both amassed large followings for their cuteness and fun personalities.
Moo Deng the hypnotic hippo
On July 10, 2024, Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, whose name translates roughly to “bouncy pig,” was born. Little did the zookeepers at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, located in Thailand, know what a large impact this crazy baby would have on the digital world.
Moo Deng is known for her adorable face and her chaotic presence. The baby hippo will rarely hold still and does not tolerate much of anything. Despite her low tolerance for their shenanigans, her zookeepers love to torment her.
Her primary keeper, Atthapon Nundee, described her feisty attitude in an email with the Seattle Times.
“Moo Deng specifically, even in comparison to her siblings, is really bouncy and really feisty. She has no teeth but is adamant about biting her keeper,” said Nundee.
Hippos are some of the most dangerous animals in the world, as far as humans should be concerned, but pygmy hippos are generally friendlier, but can also become dangerous if they so choose. Moo Deng is far too small to do any harm but has shown a tendency to charge and bite at people when they mess with her.
The TikTok famous hippo is equal parts cute and chaotic, often seen charging at hoses in an attempt to turn them off or slipping and falling as she runs from her mother. Content of Moo Deng is in no short supply.
Nundee loves sharing videos of her chaotic attitude.
“I think I am close with her to the point I can share lovely day-to-day activities,” he said in an email. “Most people like that and watching her grow up,” Nundee said.
Pesto the gargantuan penguin
On Jan. 31, a king penguin hatched at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia. At the time of his birth, staff had no reason to know what a tank this baby, named Pesto, would grow up to be.
Pesto’s biggest claim to fame is his size and fluff. At only a couple of months old, Pesto became a shockingly hefty baby, quickly growing to the same size as his parents. Currently, he is still brown and fluffy all over but is now much larger than all of the others.
Despite his size, Pesto is a well-behaved and chatty penguin– much different than his borderline chaotic famous animal counterpart Moo Deng– according to one of his keepers, Emily Thorton.
“Despite the human faces and cameras pressed against Pesto's enclosure, he remains fairly "humble" about his newfound fame,” Thornton told news.com.au.
Pesto weighs fifteen to twenty pounds more than the average adult king penguin, but he has yet to reach adulthood himself. Since growing popular on TikTok, people have been flooding into the aquarium to see the giant baby.
According to Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium’s general manager, Claire Burrell, the penguin has gotten over 2 billion views, and this number continues to rise.
“... he has brought immense joy to everyone here at Sea Life Melbourne and to penguin fans around the world. We look forward to sharing his future adventure – which will include fledging and then swimming lessons,” Burrell said in an interview with the New York Times.
The world will continue to watch these two
Three endangered babies worth adoring
The Sunda Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean near Indonesia, were once home to three different breeds of tigers: Bali, Javan and Sumatran. Of these three, the Sumatran tigers are the only breed still in existence, with the Bali and Javan having gone extinct.
Sumatran tigers are endangered, with only a couple of hundred of them left in the wild. However, there is still hope for this species, and that hope is best embodied in little Zaza.
On May 25, a Sumatran tiger cub was born at Manor Wildlife Park in St. Florence, Wales. While Zaza has not seen levels of fame nearly the same as Pesto or Moo Deng, her species is endangered due vastly to poaching and the loss of their habitat on the Sunda Islands, meaning her birth is a momentous occasion.
In an article by Manor Wildlife Park, Animal Manager Nick Newton was described as overjoyed at the birth of Zaza.
“We are overjoyed to welcome Zaza to our family. This birth is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team, who have worked tirelessly to create an environment where these magnificent animals can thrive. Zaza's arrival is a beacon of hope for the conservation of Sumatran tigers, and we are committed to ensuring she grows up healthy and strong,” Newton said.
Another endangered species, also native to Indonesia and the surrounding areas, is the siamang, which is a type of small ape. On March 15, zookeepers at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk were greeted by Malana, a 35-year-old Siamang, holding her fifth baby.
Since Malana is considered a senior, they named the baby Finn, short for “finale,” to honor the mother’s many successful births with her lifelong mate, Bali. The family, apes and humans alike, were thrilled to meet the newest baby, which they did not yet know the gender of.
Finn is an adorable baby who is also part of an endangered species that is deserving of attention and love. Siamangs have faced a loss of habitat similar to Sumatran tigers, so it is excellent to see that Finn and their family are thriving.
The last baby that is worthy of adoration is being kept mostly away from the public eye but is an important step in the restoration of the endangered species of pangolin. The baby, born on July 25, at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, has not yet been named, but is being referred to as “the pangopup.”
According to World Wildlife, pangolins are peaceful creatures and live on a diet of mostly insects. They are the only scaled mammals, and they can live in a variety of different habitats in Africa and Asia. However, pangolins are poached and trafficked at shockingly high rates due to their scales and meat, which is considered a delicacy.
The pangopup, specifically a white-bellied pangolin, is going to help zookeepers learn more about how to breed and conserve the pangolin population. While this baby will not be the next TikTok sensation, due to its nature and the Zoo’s wishes, the pangopup still deserves love, and the pangolin species deserves attention and action to save it from extinction.
So far, 2024 has seen the birth of many lovable animals in zoos, bringing people’s attention to these adorable species. Animal lovers need to do their research on endangered animals as well, and support those babies just as much as they would Pesto and Moo Deng.
