Thailand’s internet sensation Moo Deng turned one on 10 July at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, drawing roughly 12,000 visitors on the first of a four-day birthday festival. Fans travelled from as far as the United States and Malaysia, while children under 12 were granted free entry as part of the celebrations. Highlights included a 20-kilogram fruit-and-vegetable cake shared by the pygmy hippo and her 26-year-old mother, Jona, and an online auction that fetched 100,000 baht (US$3,065) for the right to sponsor the treat. The zoo says proceeds will support animal care and other conservation activities as it seeks to capitalise on the surge in footfall that began when Moo Deng went viral shortly after her birth. Born on 10 July 2024, Moo Deng weighed 93 kilograms at the end of June—about three times her weight eight months earlier. Zoo officials hope her popularity will spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippopotamus, of which only 2,000 to 3,000 are thought to survive in the wild. The facility runs a breeding programme aimed at bolstering the species’ numbers. Moo Deng’s fame has spilled into commercial arenas ranging from branded merchandise to cryptocurrency: a MOODENG memecoin rallied roughly 17 percent this week amid heightened media attention. The zoo expects interest in the hippo to remain a draw for both tourists and conservation fundraising even as the birthday festivities wind down.