Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo opened a four-day festival on 10 July to mark the first birthday of Moo Deng, the female pygmy hippopotamus whose playful online videos have made her a global sensation. The zoo offered free admission for children under 12 and staged parades, feeding sessions and livestreams centred on the 93-kilogram calf and her 26-year-old mother, Jona. Visitor numbers surged to about 12,000 on the first day, the zoo said, as fans flew in from the United States, Malaysia and elsewhere to watch Moo Deng devour a fruit-and-vegetable ‘cake’ and swim in her pond. An online auction raised funds for animal care, with the right to sponsor the birthday cake fetching 100,000 baht (US$3,065). Moo Deng—whose name means “bouncy pork” in Thai—rose to prominence shortly after her birth on 10 July 2024, when her keeper began sharing daily clips of her tantrums and bath-time antics. Although foot traffic has eased from the peak of her viral fame, the zoo still credits the calf with bolstering revenues and international visibility. Beyond the celebration, officials highlighted conservation goals. Fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos are thought to remain in the wild in West Africa, and Khao Kheow runs a breeding programme for the endangered species. “Moo Deng is a representative of all wild animals, and she helps turn people’s attention to their conservation,” zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy said.