Happy birthday, Moo Deng: The world's favorite pygmy hippo turns 1

Happy birthday, Moo Deng! The adorable, viral pygmy hippo that has millions of fans across the globe celebrated her first birthday Thursday, with thousands of people there to join her. 

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo is marking Moo Deng’s birthday with four days of activities. Many of her fans flew thousands of miles to celebrate with her. She even had a birthday cake made of fruits and vegetables. 

Moo Deng turns 1

By the numbers:

By Thursday afternoon, 12,000 visitors had been to the zoo, but Moo Deng was unbothered. She took a dip in her pond while her admirers rushed to snap pictures and sing "Happy birthday."

RELATED: Moo Deng isn't the only viral zoo star

The zoo held online auctions to celebrate Moo Deng's birthday, with photos, footprints and a food container on offer to raise funds for all the animals under their care.

Visitors gather to celebrate Moo Deng's first birthday at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo on July 10, 2025 in Pattaya, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

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They also held an auction for the honor of sponsoring her birthday cake, which went for $3,065.

The zoo sits on almost 2,000 acres of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals.

It runs breeder programs for many endangered species including the pygmy hippopotamus. The species is native to West Africa, where it is threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. There are only 2,000 to 3,000 left in the wild.

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo saw spikes of visitors shortly after Moo Deng was born. But the number of visitors to the zoo has somewhat dropped since the height of Moo Deng’s fame. The zoo has had about 2,000 visitors during a weekday and around 5,000 during weekends over the past few months, about half the numbers it saw at its peak.

What they're saying:

"Moo Deng is my happy pill, and she’s my energy pill, my curing pill. She’s my vitamin!" said Thea Chavez, who flew in from Houston. 

"Moo Deng is a representative of all wild animals, and she helps everyone understand the roles of zoos," zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy told The Associated Press. "She speaks for all nearly extinct animals, and turns people's attention to their conservation."

How Moo Deng became a star

The backstory:

Moo Deng soared to stardom shortly after she was born, largely thanks to her keeper Atthapon Nundee who shared adorable pictures and videos of the baby hippo on social media. Atthapon keeps Moo Deng's fans updated with moments of her squirming as he tries to wash her, biting him as he tries to play, or calmly closing her eyes as he rubs her belly.

Moo Deng splashes in a bucket of water in her enclosure at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo on November 11, 2024 in Pattaya, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

Moo Deng, which means "bouncy pork" in Thai, is a type of meatball. The name was chosen by fans via a poll on social media. It matches the names of her other siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). There is also a common hippo at the zoo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).