Totally unfazed that it was her birthday, she wandered around her enclosure, took a few naps and chewed her caretaker’s knees while she was hosed down.
Just like any human celebrity, Moo Deng has dozens of fan pages on social media with pictures and videos capturing her every moment in public. Videos posted to TikTok and other social media sites have garnered tens of millions of views. She is so popular that her image was registered as a trademark in Thailand.
There is also a whole range of merchandise, from clothing to plush toys to her own cryptocurrency.
Attendance has quadrupled because of her, according to Narongwit Chodchoy, the zoo’s director.
Moo Deng has also boosted awareness of pygmy hippos, an endangered species that are smaller cousins of the hippopotamus and native to West Africa. An estimated 2,000 remain in the wild, according to The Pygmy Hippo Foundation.
Fortunately for her fans, Moo Deng will likely have a many more birthdays, since pygmy hippos can live up to 50 years.
Whether the stardom fades as she gets older and less bouncy isn’t clear.
For now, Moo Deng has fans, her mom and a party on her mind.
Then, probably, sleep.