In 2025, Let’s Do Better—the Problem With Moo Deng Being ‘Viral’
Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Thailand: The line to see Moo Deng stretches a long way, with a wait time of over an hour. At least a hundred people at any given time crowd around her enclosure with their cameras ready, hoping to glimpse the baby pygmy hippo.
Along the line to Moo Deng’s enclosure, visitors pass adult hippos sitting in barren plots.
‘The Internet’s Favorite Animal’
In 2024, Moo Deng became an unwilling social media star when a zookeeper posted a video of her on Instagram, and her image has been inescapable ever since.
Her likeness spread like wildfire when the internet seized upon its new “favorite animal.” We now see her in or on paintings, tapestries, sculptures, mass-produced shirts, hats, bumper stickers, and even SNL skits.
But being everyone’s “favorite” doesn’t feel good when they’re using you.
What Does Moo Deng Want?
We’re not mind readers, but it doesn’t take ESP to know that fame, crowds, or T-shirts with her likeness are not Moo Deng’s top priorities.
Pygmy hippos are reclusive and nocturnal. They spend most of their days in nature sleeping and hiding in rivers, waiting until nighttime to forage in their diverse and expansive habitat.
Khao Kheow Open Zoo exposes Moo Deng to rowdy crowds, who shout and throw objects at her from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. when she should be sleeping. She has nowhere to hide and barely enough water to swim in. This arrangement clearly isn’t for Moo Deng’s benefit but to entertain customers.
Why Breeding Programs Exist
Businesses like roadside zoos, cub-petting operations, and wild-animal photo ops love exploiting baby animals for business because they’re easy for humans to control.
Their captors then warehouse them when they grow up and pose an increasing danger to humans. These animals spend decades forgotten by the public, living in barren enclosures—just like Tonka did inside Tonia Haddix’s basement.
Moo Deng’s life will be no different.
‘Conservation’ Makes Moo Deng Suffer
Khao Kheow Open Zoo claims to breed animals in captivity for “conservation,” but let’s be honest: These businesses breed animals far away from their natural homes and keep them prisoner for profit.
Khao Kheow bred Moo Deng in its unaccredited Thai zoo, and she will likely die there. She will only know her barren enclosure and never experience the breadth, diversity, and comfort of her natural habitat in West Africa.
If Khao Kheow really wants to help animals, it could start by protecting the habitats of local species by leading rewilding projects or other meaningful protection efforts.
Help End Suffering in Unaccredited Zoos
The only difference between Moo Deng and the other animals who suffer in shoddy zoos, pseudo-sanctuaries, and traveling shows is that she’s still in the news.
Let’s do better in 2025. Countless animals are sentenced to life behind bars in the U.S., and they’re counting on you: Will you take a minute to defend them?
