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Moo Deng Celebrates First Birthday With Parade and 100,000-Baht Cake

Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo used the festivities to secure corporate partnerships, reinforcing the hippo’s soft-power appeal.

Le bébé hippopotame pygmée Moo Deng (d), nage avec sa mère au zoo de Khao Kheow, le 10 juillet 2025 à Chonburi, en Thaïlande
Le bébé hippopotame pygmée Moo Deng mange son gâteau d'anniversaire au zoo de Khao Kheow, le 10 juillet 2025 à Chonburi, en Thaïlande
Image
Le bébé hippopotame pygmée Moo Deng (d) mange son gâteau d'anniversaire avec sa mère au zoo de Khao Kheow, le 10 juillet 2025 à Chonburi, en Thaïlande

Overview

  • The celebration included a parade, an influencer roundtable, a charity auction and a birthday cake sponsored with 100,000 baht by a Thai cosmetics executive.
  • At one year old Moo Deng weighs 93 kg, triple her birth weight, highlighting her rapid growth under zoo care.
  • Her social media fame drove a fourfold increase in annual ticket sales last September, boosting tourism in Chon Buri.
  • Digital mentions of Moo Deng peaked after a late-2024 Saturday Night Live parody and have since tapered, illustrating the fleeting nature of viral wildlife stars.
  • The event drew renewed attention to the endangered pygmy hippopotamus, whose wild population numbers fewer than 2,500 according to the IUCN.