Happy Birthday, Moo Deng: The world’s beloved pygmy hippo turns 1

Moo Deng went viral on TikTok shortly after she was born when her keeper began sharing sweet videos of her going about her day.

The internet’s most loved hippo is celebrating her first birthday.

Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo from Thailand who captured the hearts of people across the globe with her playful personality and goofy antics, is being treated to four days of festivities in celebration of her first full trip around the sun.

Staff at Khao Kheow Open Zoo treated the hippo to a three-tier cake adorned with rainbows, flowers, and her favourite snack, watermelon.

Throughout the four-day event, children under 12 years old can enter the zoo, which is about a two-hour drive from the capital, Bangkok, for free.

Moo Deng’s fans, including adults, have come from far and wide to watch her celebrate.

Among them was Molly Swindall, who flew from New York to catch a glimpse of the famous hippo.

She was seen handing a tray of food to a zoo keeper for Moo Deng’s breakfast, which the baby hippo and her mother, Jona, gobbled up.

“I just loved her so much and decided, you know what, I have three or four days off of work … I can make it work to fly to Thailand,” Swindall told The Associated Press. I will only be there for about 30 hours, but that’s enough to go see Moo Deng. And that’s exactly what I did.”