Enjoy Moo Deng before she becomes terrifying!
Moo Deng the pygmy hippo has taken over the internet. She’s dethroned cats, penguins, and all sorts of contenders to become the adorable animal of social media’s collective dreams. Look at her! Look at those adorable little feet!
Looking at Moo Deng invokes curious feelings in me because I am not a hippo fan. I’m sorry! I just find them intrinsically scary. When they’re fully grown they are essentially nature’s perfect killing machine. Oh sure, they look cute and when caught in the right moment they have adorable doofy smiles, but they can rip you apart if they so choose. Quick! Someone cover Moo Deng’s ears!
Of course, none of this actually applies to Moo Deng (her name means “bouncy pork!) right now. She is a mere two months old, having been born in July 2024 to parents Tony and Jonah. She’s so tiny… but she’s gonna get bigger! In fact, pygmy hippos grow up fast. By the time Moo Deng is five months old, she’ll be ten times the hippo she was at birth. When she’s around five years old she’ll hit sexual maturity, and then she’ll be able to mate and (hopefully!) create new baby hippos for the world to enjoy. Pygmy hippos are endangered right now, so the more of them come into the world the better.
But, sadly for all the biggest Moo Deng fans out there, she won’t last as long as a human being can. No one is completely sure how long a pygmy hippo can survive in the wild, but in captivity, they’re thought to live for 30-55 years. That’s not bad, though! And to be brutally honest, Moo Deng has achieved more in her life than most humans ever will, having become a wonderful and internationally beloved ambassador for the pygmy hippo in a matter of just two months.
Yes, I’m jealous of this hippo. That’s another reason I find them scary. They’re just too damn good at their jobs.
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