Current:Home > ScamsMoo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked. -StockSource
Moo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked.
EchoSense View
Date:2025-04-08 13:09:02
A wet, chubby baby hippopotamus has cast her "vote" in on the U.S. presidential election.
Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippopotamus at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, was presented with two fruit baskets made to look like cakes this week, one with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris' name and the other with Republican candidate Donald Trump's name.
In a video shared by Khao Kheow Open Zoo on X, both cakes are placed in Moo Deng's pen, surrounded by a crowd of eager guests. The video depicts Moo Deng slowly walking up to her fruit basket of choice and before long, she's munching and crunching on the Trump cake.
Moo Deng's mother, on the other hand, chose the fruit bearing Harris' name.
Who is Moo Deng?
Nearly four months old, Moo Deng has taken social media by storm during her short time on earth. Videos and photos of the baby hippo yelling at her zoo keepers, resting in a water bucket and enjoying a bath have garnered millions of views this summer. And Khao Kheow Open Zoo boasts more than 132,000 followers on X.
Born on July 10, Moo Deng's name means "bouncing pig" in Thai. Her mother is Jona, 25, and her father is Tony, 24. She has two siblings, Pork Stew and Sweet Pork. Moo Deng is also the granddaughter of Thailand's oldest hippo, Malee, who is 59 years old, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.
Pygmy hippos, often thought of as the smaller cousin, are about half the size of common hippos, weighting less than one-fourth of a full-sized common hippo, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation. Pygmies are native to West Africa and their average life expectancy is 27 years.
In 2016, pygmy hippos were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A 1993 survey conducted by IUCN found that only about 2,000-3,000 pygmies remained worldwide.
A new pygmy on the block? Meet Haggis.
Moo Deng is no longer the only pygmy hippo looking for social media fame.
On Oct. 30, a female pygmy calf named Haggis was born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo to parents Otto and Gloria, according to a news release shared by the institution.
“While Thailand’s Moo Deng has become a viral global icon, it is important to remember that pygmy hippos are incredibly rare," Jonny Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said in the release. "It is great to have our own little ambassador right here in Edinburgh to connect with our visitors and help raise awareness of the challenges the species face in the wild.”
Appleyard added that Haggis is "doing really well" and her personality is already starting to shine.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $300 Crossbody Bag for Just $69
- As ‘Tipping Point’ Nears for Cheap Solar, Doors Open to Low-Income Families
- How to protect yourself from poor air quality
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- CBS News poll: The politics of abortion access a year after Dobbs decision overturned Roe vs. Wade
- Bad Bunny's Sexy See-Through Look Will Drive You Wild
- Paul-Henri Nargeolet's stepson shares memories of French explorer lost in OceanGate sub tragedy
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Debt limit deal claws back unspent COVID relief money
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Opioid settlement payouts are now public — and we know how much local governments got
- A woman is in custody after refusing tuberculosis treatment for more than a year
- Department of Energy Program Aims to Bump Solar Costs Even Lower
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Most-Shopped Celeb-Recommended Items This Month: Olivia Culpo, Ashley Graham, Kathy Hilton, and More
- President Donald Trump’s Climate Change Record Has Been a Boon for Oil Companies, and a Threat to the Planet
- Facing Grid Constraints, China Puts a Chill on New Wind Energy Projects
Recommendation
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
The winners from the WHO's short film fest were grim, inspiring and NSFW-ish
Britney Spears Reunites With Mom Lynne Spears After Conservatorship Battle
Addiction drug maker will pay more than $102 million fine for stifling competition
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Ray Liotta's Fiancée Jacy Nittolo Details Heavy Year of Pain On First Anniversary of His Death
Get 2 Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gels for Less Than the Price of 1
How Pruitt’s New ‘Secret Science’ Policy Could Further Undermine Air Pollution Rules