Current:Home > ContactMoo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked. -AssetTrainer
Moo Deng casts her 'vote' in presidential election. See which 'candidate' she picked.
View
Date:2025-04-15 19:37:02
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 gcross@gannett.com.
veryGood! (347)
Related
- Small twin
- McDonald's Chicken Big Mac debuts this week: Here's what's on it and when you can get one
- Florida power outage map: 3 million Floridians without power following Hurricane Milton
- Where will northern lights be visible in the US? Incoming solar storm to unleash auroras
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- TikTok sued by 13 states and DC, accused of harming younger users
- Opinion: Luis Tiant deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Hurricane Milton hitting near the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Michael
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Atlantic City mayor and his wife plead not guilty to beating their daughter
Ranking
- 'Most Whopper
- This Under Eye Mask Is Like an Energy Drink for Your Skin and It’s 46% Off on Prime Day
- House Democrats in close races try to show they hear voter concerns about immigration
- Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan on ‘The Apprentice': ‘We’re way out on a limb’
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Jax Taylor Makes Surprise House of Villains Return—And Slams One Former Costar
- Travis Barker Shares Sweet Shoutout to Son Landon Barker for 21st Birthday
- Fantasy football injury report Week 6: Latest on Malik Nabers, Joe Mixon, A.J. Brown, more
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Inflation slowed again, new CPI report shows: Will the Fed keep cutting rates?
Dogs fatally attack a man behind a building in New York
Hawaii’s prison system confronts ‘a huge mental health crisis’
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Giancarlo Stanton's late homer gives Yankees 2-1 lead over Royals in ALDS
Delta’s Q3 profit fell below $1 billion after global tech outage led to thousands of cancellations
Here's the one thing 'Saturday Night' director Jason Reitman implored his actors not to do