#Moo Deng TikTok videos

[viraltrendsspot]

How This New Yorker & Taylor Swift Fan Molly Swindall Saw Moo Deng In Thailand & Pesto The Penguin

A New York-based Taylor Swift fan and animal lover named Molly Swindall traveled over 8,000 miles to Thailand just to see Moo Deng, a viral baby pygmy hippo that has become an internet sensation.

[jnsaiba]

made by BrimRun on TikTok:

[skinntyy]

Moo Deng speaks out for the first time.

[questions-about-blorbos]

People in my inbox trying to accuse Khao Kheow zoo of abusing Moo Deng and acting like they are experts who can point fingers and say the zoo and Moo Deng’s Thai keeper are unfit to take care of Moo Deng are so silly.

I’m Thai and I live only an hour drive away from the zoo. I used to visit the zoo frequently when I was a kid, and I — as well as any other Thai people — know the zoo does NOT abuse animals. It’s actually the opposite when they rescue and take in injured animals or animals who they rescued from abusive backgrounds.

Please don’t act like you know better than locals, who are familiar with the zoo and how they treat and save animals, just because you saw one TikTok post where a white person with white savior complex said Moo Deng was abused because her caretaker patted her on her butt a little too hard when they played, or because he manhandled her playfully when she, just like any other kids, threw a tantrum and tried to squirm away— even though Moo Deng’s mom, who could literally be seen eating next to Moo Deng when her caretaker “abused” her in those videos, trusts the caretaker to take care and look after Moo Deng for her and are always unbothered by the way Moo Deng is treated. (Because she knows Moo Deng is fine.) Just like how he took care of her other kids, Moo Deng’s older siblings, for the past 8 years.

And did I mention that Moo Deng’s older siblings are literally so clingy that they always demand to be close to their human caretaker? HE MUST’VE BEEN SOOOOO ABUSIVE TO THEM THAT THEY LIKE HIM THIS MUCH 😡

LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS (and gif) OF ONE OF MOO DENG’S OLDER SIBLINGS WITH HER CARETAKER (the same man who takes care of Moo Deng) AND HOW “SCARED” SHE IS / sarcasm

Anyway, this post explains so absolutely well why the baseless claims, about the zoo being abusive, are complete bullshit.

My favorite quote from them: “Please don't trust random (may I add racist?) foreigners on the internet over locals who actually knows what they're talking about.”

As a local who’s familiar with the zoo and has visited the place many, many times, Khao Kheow zoo and the caretaker NEVER abuse Moo Deng or any of their animals. Thank you.

*Please also follow and support the amazing, hardworking caretaker of Moo Deng and her family over at khamoo.andthegang — gif and all photos above credit to him

— peace and love, mod 2

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

I love Fiona the Hippo, so I really liked your post highlighting her, but now I'm sad that Moo Deng is having a bad time. I did think it was funny she tried to bite that one handler's crotch, and I was worried that she's going to grow up to be an aggressive hippo that might hurt someone because they're just kinda . . . letting her bite people and how that'll end very badly for her, but it hadn't occurred to me that she was being mistreated. :(

It’s hard to say whether she’s being “mistreated” necessarily. I don’t like to throw around words like abuse when it comes to animal welfare because people use it way too lightly.

But there’s definitely a degree of stress she’s experiencing due to that handling. It’s so easy to find cute animal videos endearing and amusing when we don’t know what to look for.

I tend to try to assess things over multiple contexts and videos and form an opinion from there. The blatant smacking, grabbing, picking up and chasing were probably the best examples- but I only found most of those because TikTok kept shoving guest videos from the zoo onto my fyp.

The biting was another flag. Yes, hippos use their mouths to interact with their world but regardless of context it’s just a huge no no when it comes to handling any animal - especially a large herbivore that grows up with a bite force of approx 1800lbs!

Also I was looking for more videos of their adult Pygmy hippos and came across a video of one of the keepers using a water gun on one of them

Dude really? You’re going to post that on your official zoo TikTok and not have a think about the optics for your conservation message?

Yikes.

Also the adult Pygmy hippo very much avoids the keeper and either tolerates it or runs away from the water.

Interesting to see the open mouth while being followed/chased with the water gun while he tries to avoid it. A redirected threat display? A stress yawn? He just looks very much like he’s tolerating it.

It does make me wonder if this is another hippo raised with the same rough handling as Moo Deng and they’ve just learned nothing they do matters and to tolerate whatever comes their way. It’s pretty much learned helplessness and I don’t like that at all.

Compare this with Fritz the common hippo (Fiona’s brother) interacting with the hose - it stays in one place for him to interact with, is offered and then moved away so he can continue to seek it out if he wants more. He actively seeks the hose and can move himself around to where it feels best.

This is how you offer consent and autonomy to your zoo animals. Not chase them around their enclosure with a water gun jfc

[were--ralph]

Are you still obsessed with your daughter Moo Deng?

I love my daughter and now tiktok won't stop showing me videos of her

[fastwalker]

I don't like how the keepers are constantly man handling moo deng (the viral baby pigmy hippo), it just looks like these abusive pet owner videos who constantly pester their dog or cat to force a reaction for a "cute" online video (when in fact the animal is showing distress, idk enough abt hippo body language to tell if moo deng is distress)

it already lead to zoo visitors throwing stuff at the hippos bc they want them to act like in the videos instead of sleep and graze, like they mostly do https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/13/moo-deng-hippo-tiktok-khao-kheow-open-zoo-thailand-viral

[northern-punk-lad]

The idea Moo Deng is being abused are often ridiculous because

1. They only ever use proof from tiktok videos which obviously catch the most interest stuff people who have been to see her in person have said most of the time she’s just relaxing

2. Compare her to regular hippos when she is a Pygmy hippo

3. Thailand animal right have looked into themselves and said she’s completely fine

[mariacallous]

Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Moo Deng. The baby pygmy hippo is barely two months old and already famous. So beloved on TikTok, Instagram, and X is Moo Deng that workers at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the place in Thailand where she was born, are doing all they can to keep up with her fans’ appetite for more. They post videos, photos, updates. They also welcome thousands of visitors a day and find themselves having to defend Moo Deng when tourists throw shells at her while she’s just trying to chill.

Moo Deng, a name that means “bouncy pig,” has probably been all over your timeline lately—on Sephora makeup tutorials, on X’s main feed. She was born in July and in the past few weeks has become the Internet’s New Favorite Animal. A tradition almost as old as the internet itself, Favorite Animals—Maru, any of the dogs on the shiba inu puppy cam, those two llamas who just happened to run free the same day everyone was trying to decide what color The Dress was—come into the public consciousness seemingly out of nowhere. Some, like Doge, stick around; others disappear, or simply outgrow their cuteness, within a matter of weeks.

All of which makes capitalizing on their fame a matter of some urgency. It seems heartless to think of animals this way, but if their owners don’t, someone else will. Perhaps that’s why zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi told the Associated Press this week that the zoo has begun the process of trying to trademark and patent the hippo to avoid her likeness getting used by anyone else—a smart move considering Moo Deng mugs, T-shirts, and other merch are already popping up online. Income from these efforts, Chodcho told the wire service, could “support activities that will make the animals’ lives better.”

Moo Deng might need it. Fandom is getting a bit out of control these days. As pop stars like Chappell Roan have amassed online and offline fame, they’ve also had to use their platforms to ask for space from boundary-less fans and stalkers. Social media celebs like Drew Afualo, on whose podcast Roan appeared to talk about the subject, also tell stories of being approached in public by people who simply know them from the internet.

It may seem odd to compare them to Favorite Animals, but the ways in which people feel entitled to their time aren’t that far apart. Everyone wants something for the ’gram, even if that something is a living being with its own sense of agency. One of Moo Deng’s most popular TikToks has 34 million views, and zoo staff have had to limit her visiting time to five minutes on Saturdays and Sundays to keep too many people from trying to get content of their own.

Trademark protections may be the best way for Moo Deng’s caretakers to ensure others don’t cash in on her viral fame. When Jools Lebron made efforts to trademark her “very demure, very mindful” meme, one of the hurdles that emerged was that it’s hard to claim ownership of a phrase. As Kate Miltner, a lecturer in data, AI, and society at the University of Sheffield’s Information School, told me at the time, memes with audiovisual elements, like Nyan Cat or Grumpy Cat, are easier to register. “People will invariably try to make money off of viral or memetic content, as we've seen time and again,” Miltner says when asked about trademarking the baby hippo, adding that the Cincinnati Zoo has already done this with Fiona the Hippo. “It's smart of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo to (at least try to) ensure that they’re the ones that do so.”

Lebron seems to be figuring out how to market her moment, and Moo Deng’s keepers seem to be doing the same. Being online in 2024 means living in a state of near-constant vulnerability. You could get hacked or turned into a humiliating deepfake. Having a public opinion on a video game or The Acolyte could turn your mentions into a hellscape. And that’s what happens to filthy casuals. When you’re an ascending pop star or a baby hippo the weak spots multiply, because the world always seems hungry for more of you. It’s possible to protect yourself, even monetize yourself, but you can lose yourself, too.

Like Boaty McBoatface, Moo Deng was named by the internet. The zoo held a poll on social media. Unlike McBoatface, Moo Deng is a living thing; she’s a member of an endangered species and needs protecting. Moo Deng is more than a meme.

[tadeojonesmemes]

Every time I go to social media apps...

... I always see Moo Deng.

Moo Deng is so cute 🥰

My roommate and I thought about going to Khao Kheow Zoo, but it was too crowded, so we didn't go. We could only watch Moo Deng videos on TikTok or other social media apps ;(

[therealdistortion]

both my entire tumblr feed and TikTok fyp is just pictures or videos of moo deng

[vilecrocodile]

ive watched some of the insta videos from the zoo where moo deng is at, and my inexpert verdict is that the keepers are absolutely provoking her for the sake of "cute" content, but aside from the inherent stress of the fear reactions shes not really being harmed, any more so than any chihuahua being harassed into growling or snapping for tiktok is. as far as i can tell the hippo enclosures seem spacious and appropriate and the animals themselves look healthy enough. eventually moo deng will grow up and probably bite someones arm off or maul them. but thats the sort of game you play with wild animals. its certainly not enough to warrant "cancelling" and condemning the whole zoo, whose practices and animal welfare policies you probably dont know any more about than i do. if youre so concerned with animal welfare then start at home. dont share content of wild animals having physical interaction with humans or being provoked into stress reactions. have some thought about the cute videos you share. examine your cultural bias around "animal mistreatment" and if youre having a stronger response just because the animal is in a zoo in asia. learn about conservation efforts. and for the love of god stop letting people get away with bringing their untrained unsocialized dogs everywhere and letting their cats free roam outside

[ayo-edebiri]

Where can I watch Moo Deng videos? 🥹

Mostly on here!

[possiblepeople]

Video description: A tiktok video of Moo Deng, a baby hippo living at Khao Khreow Open Zoo.

Moo Deng is laying on her side while she is getting playfully poked and petted by a Zoo keeper.

Moo Dengs mother can be seen in the background eating greens. End video description.

She is the moment

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

Okay wtf is going on with Kheo Keow’s TikTok.

Hosing a hyena in an area they can’t escape from. They don’t need to be hosed what are you doing???? Hyena is focused on something else and spins around multiple times (this isn’t play it’s frustration)

Sneaking up on two common hippos - one sees the keeper and immediately gets up and turns to him with head lowered as the keeper giggles (gee I wonder why they feel so defensive?) and then another shot of him sneaking up when they’re lying down and smacking them on the rump, laughing! What the actual fuck are you doing???

Keepers have been killed by hippos in the past. Don’t play with fire (this incident happened at another zoo - keeper is lucky to be alive)

Not to mention the video of the keeper chasing around an adult Pygmy hippo with a water gun

Uh guys…. That’s an endangered species you’re chasing around with a fake gun. Did we think about the optics of this at all? Kind of hard to take your conservation messaging seriously when this is how you treat your animals.

Moo Deng clearly isn’t the first animal they’ve been inappropriately handling for clout. That is extremely concerning.