MA-0039 · first seen 10 July 2024
Moo Deng
A baby pygmy hippo in Thailand whose chaotic energy made her the Internet’s favourite animal of 2024.
- Status
- FallingPast its peak, within the last five years
- Trend score
- 30/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- −5%Estimated
- Peak
- 87Sep 2024
- Years active
- 3Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 202410 July 2024
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Jul 2024 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
Moo Deng was born on 10 July 2024 at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand. In early September the zoo’s posts of the baby hippo’s antics, splashing, bouncing and glaring, went viral worldwide, and visitor numbers doubled.
The attention became a story in itself. The zoo introduced five-minute visit limits and security cameras after visitors splashed and threw objects at the hippo, and on 28 September Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang parodied her. Conservationists noted, in February 2025, that the fame had not meaningfully increased funding for her species.
Origin
Born on 10 July 2024 at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand.
10 July 2024
Viralization
Videos and photos posted by the zoo went viral in early September 2024.
September 2024
Peak
September 2024, including a Saturday Night Live sketch on 28 September.
Sep 2024
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
A birth
A pygmy hippo is born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
Early adoption
A local star
The zoo begins sharing posts of the baby hippo.
Viral
Worldwide
Clips of her splashing and glaring spread across the Internet.
Peak
Saturday Night Live
A sketch on Weekend Update parodies her fame.
Decline
A Year in Search
She appears in Google’s year-in-review video as attention begins to fade.
Current
A first birthday
More than 12,000 fans celebrate her first birthday.
Related memes
Chosen by shared era, category, platform and cultural link.
Italian Brainrot
68/100−2%Hot2025Same conversation · Same era
Chill Guy
41/100−7%Falling2023Same conversation · Same era
Brat Summer
22/100−6%Falling2024Same conversation · Same era
Grumpy Cat
15/1000%Classic2012Same conversation · Same kind of meme