If you’ve been on social media at any point in the last several weeks, you have undoubtedly seen the baby pygmy hippo named Moo Deng. Born in July at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Moo Deng (which translates to “bouncy pork,” or by some accounts, “bouncy pig”) is the relief we all need in today’s stressful climate.
There seems to never be a time when a cute animal isn’t embraced by the internet, but I can’t think of another occasion when the internet has been so collectively, intensely obsessed with one particular cute animal. Moo Deng’s star power is an incomparable cultural phenomenon.
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In all her hose-hungry, knee-biting glory, Moo Deng reflects a deficit. This little hippo fills our cups with the ungovernable energy we all seek in one way or another. What can we learn from her rise to fame, and how can we apply her energy to our everyday lives?
Moo Deng doesn’t let appearances define her
Of course a baby pygmy hippo is cute, but Moo Deng doesn’t let her cuteness act as a constraint. She rebels against the conventions of ‘cute’, instead sowing chaos and drawing crowds in with the sharp contrast between her snuggly appearance and feisty personality.
Moo Deng shows us it’s possible to define yourself, even if it’s against society’s assumptions.
She’s willing to use her best assets – most famously, her chompers
You might say that Moo Deng’s chomping is useless considering her teeth are hardly in yet. The fact is that she’s actually practicing by emulating her mother and ‘eating’ grass, gnawing on her keepers, and showing off what will be a powerful jaw.
These chompers are arguably her best assets. When she becomes an adult, the force of her jaws will be upwards of 1,800 lbs per square inch.
Zookeepers have also clarified that her constant chewing behavior is due to being young; zookeepers say it’s playfulness and not threatening behavior.
We, too, should exercise our best assets – even if it’s only for practice. You never know when you might need them!
Moo Deng sticks with her strongest support
Moo Deng reportedly sticks close to her mother, Jona. Babies instinctively know to stay close to their mother, and Moo Deng certainly follows suit. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Sticking close to her mom is an instinct rooted in survival, and we humans should take note; sometimes we’re too stubborn to seek help. By finding strength in others, she’s building strength for herself and giving herself the best chance for survival.
Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
She indulges in her passions
Perhaps Moo Deng’s most recognizable activity is frolicking under the hose. There’s a reason the SNL Weekend Update sketch that featured Bowen Yang used the hose throughout the sketch.
She doesn’t hide from it, and she might look kind of silly doing it. But she does it anyways. She doesn’t allow anything to get in between her and a good spray of the hose.
What are our passions for if not to be deeply invested?
Moo Deng’s vulnerability helps her grow
Although Moo Deng smartly stays close to her mother for safety and comfort, she displays a small degree of vulnerability. She explores her enclosure without reservation despite the swaths of crowds that gather day in and day out just to see her. She tests her environment with her chompers and those adorable hooves. In doing so, she’s discovered her passions (hose!), some tasty new foods (and maybe some knees here and there), and new activities to entertain herself. She’s open to the world and what it has to offer her.
Growth happens outside our comfort zones.
She is an excellent representative of her kind
Unfortunately, pygmy hippos are an endangered species. Not only does Moo Deng help bring awareness to her species, but she’s helping generate interest in other pygmy hippos. One of the newest calves in the US, Ruka at ZooTampa, shares the “spicy demeanor” that has defined Moo Deng’s popularity.
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It takes some sacrifice to represent any given group one belongs to, but Moo Deng handles it well. Despite the bumps on the road to fame – namely the gigantic crowds and the odds and ends that have been thrown at her – Moo Deng is undeterred. She continues to wiggle and bounce her way through baths, mealtime, and play sessions as the star of the show. Her resilience has allowed her zoo and zoos across the world to raise awareness about the endangered status of her species.
You can shine as a representative of a group you belong to, and you too can use it for good!
Finally, we deserve joy
While the collective internet is quick to embrace cute animals, there is definitely something different about Moo Deng. It’s been a wild year, and not a lot soothes such complex and intense feelings like an adorable, small animal. Moo Deng is the adorable, small animal that happened to come along right when we need her the most.
If we can only learn one lesson from little Moo Deng, it should be this: that we deserve joy. It’s a tough world out there, and we should take joy when it’s offered to us. We deserve joy in the face of adversity, and we deserve joy when sometimes we lack it elsewhere. Moo Deng somehow knows that she deserves joy – hers seems unbridled – so it only figures that she serves as the kind of joy that the rest of us deserve, too.
May we all experience joy in some way or another!
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