Meet Mudeng: Thailand’s Adorable Baby Hippopotamus Stealing Hearts, Just Like Korea’s Pubao
Endangered Pygmy Hippopotamus Gains Explosive Popularity on Social Media
Meet Mudeng, the Adorable Baby Hippopotamus
[카오 케오우 개방 동물원 페이스북 캡처. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
A cute baby hippopotamus at a Thai zoo is gaining explosive popularity on social media, not only in Thailand but also in various Asian countries.
The female pygmy hippopotamus, born in June at the ‘Khao Keow Open Zoo’ near Pattaya, Thailand, was named ‘Mudeng’, which means ‘bouncy pig’. A video of this baby hippo’s cute, small, and chubby appearance is going viral on social media like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Since Mudeng’s birth, the zoo’s attendance has nearly doubled as visitors flock to see him. As a result, with over 12,000 visitors flocking to the zoo since its opening in the morning, the zoo recently took steps to manage the crowds by limiting the viewing time per person to 5 minutes.
The zoo sells a variety of merchandise online, including shirts and pants featuring Mudeng. Sephora, a global beauty editor shop, is also selling a cosmetic product called ‘Baby Hippo Blusher’ inspired by Mudeng.
Global media is reporting on Mudeng’s popularity, such as the American weekly news magazine Time, which recently covered Mudeng under the title, “He is an icon and a legend.”
Zookeeper Attapon Nundi (31), who uploaded the video about Mudeng, said, “The moment I saw Mudeng being born, I set my sights on making Mudeng famous. I thought Mudeng might be famous in Thailand, but I never thought it would become so popular internationally.”
However, as the number of visitors increased, the number of inconsiderate visitors, such as spraying water to wake the turtles up for taking pictures or throwing clams to feed them, also increased. In response, the zoo installed closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) around Mudeng’s enclosure and warned that it would take legal action against visitors who abuse Mudeng.
The pygmy hippopotamus is a small species of hippopotamus, weighing only 180–280 kg as an adult, about one-eighth of the average hippopotamus. They mainly live in West Africa, and with an estimated 3,000 individuals currently remaining in the wild, they are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Attapon, a zookeeper, hopes Mudeng’s cuteness will raise awareness of the pygmy hippo species.
[카오 케오우 개방 동물원 페이스북 캡처. 재판매 및 DB 금지]