Meet Moo Deng from Thailand, Pesto from Australia, and He Hua from China—three viral animals that are currently capturing hearts worldwide.
Moo Deng is a pygmy hippopotamus that resides in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand. The name Moo Deng translates to ‘bouncy pig’ in English, and was chosen by fans through an online poll. She has achieved virality through her slippery body and energetic personality. Her zookeeper, Atthapon Nundee, has shared a multitude of videos of Moo Deng screaming, running, and biting the knees of her zookeepers. She can occasionally be seen mimicking her mother’s eating, despite being too young to eat solid plants.
Following her virality, the number of visitors coming to the zoo has almost doubled. However, many have taunted and harassed the hippo by throwing objects at her. Because of this, security cameras have been put in place and legal action has been threatened against people who harass her.
In a video by Jerry Harmer from The Associated Press, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi says, “Now the zoo is in the process of patenting and trademarking Moo Deng (…) The benefits we get from this will come back to the zoo to improve the life of all animals here. After we do this, we will have more income to support activities that will make the animals’ lives better.”
Another recently viral animal is Pesto, a king penguin chick that resides in Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. He is most well-known for his large size despite being only 9 months old—being about 3 feet tall and weighing about 50 pounds. He eats about 25 fish a day, which is almost twice the amount an adult king penguin eats.
In an interview with SBS News, Pesto’s handler Jacinta Early says, “He will actually lose all this weight pretty shortly. So what he does is go through his fledging, lose all that cute little brown fluff, and then he’ll get that sleek coat.”
In recent videos of Pesto, his viral fluff is visibly falling out. He can be seen plucking some of them out with his beak, with some parts of his flippers showing a sleek coat.
His biological dad, Blake, is the tallest penguin at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. Although, he is currently under the care of foster parents Hudson and Tango. Many videos of him have been circulating online, where he is seen waddling around his foster parents.
Aden Kao, a senior at ERHS says, “I think Pesto is cuter because he’s just a giant baby.”
He Hua, also known as Hua Hua by fans, is a 4-year-old giant panda located in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China. She has been gaining overwhelming popularity with her playful antics and gentle nature. On Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, He Hua’s topic has garnered about 7.7 billion views and 873,000 fans.
He Hua is known for her distinctive figure compared to other pandas. She has a short jaw and receding front teeth, which have been inherited from her father Mei Lan. Also, her legs are shorter than other pandas and are suspected by many to have been inherited from her great-grandfather Zhen Zhen. These features cause complications in her eating, speed, and climbing. Her small figure has made her unable to fight back against other pandas that steal her food, leading to increased sympathy from fans. There have been times when zookeepers had to discretely feed her to prevent other pandas from stealing her food. Because her height and weight were below the standard, she took a longer time to graduate from Panda Kindergarten. However, these features, along with her round appearance, have led fans to compare her to an onigiri—a triangular-shaped rice ball.
She was born on July 4, 2020, with her twin sister He Ye by Mei Lan and Cheng Gong. The pair were raised by other pandas because of Cheng Gong’s old age, being 20 years old. However, her ancestry has contributed in some ways to her fame. Her mother is well-known for being a mother to 9 cubs in total, and her father is distinguished for being the cub involved in a 35-hour labor. He Hua’s older brother, Gong Zai, is nicknamed as ‘War God of the West’ and influenced the character ‘Po’ in the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Ember Collado, a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, says, “Pesto is my favorite since I adore penguins, and seeing his unique size is fascinating.”
