Moo Deng is more than a meme

Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Moo Deng. The baby pygmy hippo is barely two months old and already famous. Moo Deng is so popular on TikTok, Instagram and X that the staff at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the place in Thailand where she was born, do everything they can to satisfy their fans' appetite for more. They post videos, photos, updates. They also welcome thousands of visitors every day and have to defend Moo Deng when tourists throw clams at her while she's just trying to relax.

Moo Deng, a name meaning “bouncing pig,” has probably been popping up all over your timeline lately—in Sephora makeup tutorials, on X's main feed. She was born in July, and in the past few weeks she's become the internet's new favorite animal. A tradition almost as old as the internet itself: Favorite animals—Maru, all the dogs on the Shiba Inu puppy cam, those two llamas who happened to be running loose on the day everyone was trying to decide what color the dress was—pop 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 this creates urgency to capitalize on their fame. 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 trademarking and patenting the hippo to prevent its image from being used by anyone else – a smart move considering Moo Deng mugs, T-shirts and other merchandise are already popping up online. Proceeds from these efforts, Chodcho told the news outlet, could “support activities that improve the animals' lives.”

Moo Deng could use that. The fandom has been getting a little out of control lately. Pop stars like Chappell Roan have found fame online and offline and have also had to use their platforms to solicit boundless fans and stalkers. Even social media celebs like Drew Afulo, on whose podcast Roan appeared to discuss the topic, tell stories of being approached in public by people they only know from the internet.

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

Trademark protection may be the best way for Moo Deng's caregivers to prevent others from profiting from her viral fame. When Jools Lebron tried to trademark her “very low-key, very mindful” meme, it proved difficult 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, such as Nyan Cat or Grumpy Cat, are easier to register. “People will inevitably try to monetise viral or memetic content, as we've seen time and time again,” Miltner says when asked about trademarking the baby hippo, adding that the Cincinnati Zoo has already done so with Fiona the Hippo. “It's smart of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo to (at least try to) make sure they're the ones doing this.”