Current:Home > InvestMoo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked. -GlobalInvest
Moo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked.
View
Date:2025-04-13 23:28:02
A wet, chubby baby hippopotamus has cast her "vote" in on the U.S. presidential election.
Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippopotamus at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, was presented with two fruit baskets made to look like cakes this week, one with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris' name and the other with Republican candidate Donald Trump's name.
In a video shared by Khao Kheow Open Zoo on X, both cakes are placed in Moo Deng's pen, surrounded by a crowd of eager guests. The video depicts Moo Deng slowly walking up to her fruit basket of choice and before long, she's munching and crunching on the Trump cake.
Moo Deng's mother, on the other hand, chose the fruit bearing Harris' name.
Who is Moo Deng?
Nearly four months old, Moo Deng has taken social media by storm during her short time on earth. Videos and photos of the baby hippo yelling at her zoo keepers, resting in a water bucket and enjoying a bath have garnered millions of views this summer. And Khao Kheow Open Zoo boasts more than 132,000 followers on X.
Born on July 10, Moo Deng's name means "bouncing pig" in Thai. Her mother is Jona, 25, and her father is Tony, 24. She has two siblings, Pork Stew and Sweet Pork. Moo Deng is also the granddaughter of Thailand's oldest hippo, Malee, who is 59 years old, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.
Pygmy hippos, often thought of as the smaller cousin, are about half the size of common hippos, weighting less than one-fourth of a full-sized common hippo, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation. Pygmies are native to West Africa and their average life expectancy is 27 years.
In 2016, pygmy hippos were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A 1993 survey conducted by IUCN found that only about 2,000-3,000 pygmies remained worldwide.
A new pygmy on the block? Meet Haggis.
Moo Deng is no longer the only pygmy hippo looking for social media fame.
On Oct. 30, a female pygmy calf named Haggis was born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo to parents Otto and Gloria, according to a news release shared by the institution.
“While Thailand’s Moo Deng has become a viral global icon, it is important to remember that pygmy hippos are incredibly rare," Jonny Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said in the release. "It is great to have our own little ambassador right here in Edinburgh to connect with our visitors and help raise awareness of the challenges the species face in the wild.”
Appleyard added that Haggis is "doing really well" and her personality is already starting to shine.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
veryGood! (99623)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Trump's 'stop
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Average rate on 30
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
Intellectuals vs. The Internet
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power