(10 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chonburi, Thailand – 10 July 2025
1. Zoo workers placing makeshift birthday cake made of fruits and vegetables for baby pygmy Moo Deng’s first birthday in enclosure
2. Moo Deng in water
3. Moo Deng’s mother Jona beginning to eat cake
4. Moo Deng joining mother to eat cake
5. Pan from crowd to enclosure
6. Moo Deng eating from cake
7. Close of crowd
8. Various of Moo Deng eating
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Thea Chavez, Moo Deng fan from Texas, US:
"Moo Deng is my happy pill. And she’s my energy pill, my curing pill. She’s my vitamin."
Reporter: "What do you think Moo Deng has brought to so many people here today?"
"Moo Deng has brought a lot of happiness to each and everyone whether it be a heartbreak or you know somebody recovering from illness so she’s just a potato, a moist potato, that has bursts of chaotic and calm energy at the same time."
10. Fan from New York, Molly Swindall preparing breakfast for Moo Deng
11. Moo Deng and Jona eating breakfast
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Molly Swindall, visitor from New York:
"Everything I was seeing started to be Moo Deng and I just loved her so much and decided, you know what, I have three or four days off of work. I can make it work to fly to Thailand. I will only be there for about 30 hours, but that’s enough to go see Moo Deng. And that’s exactly what I did."
13. Various of crowds watching Moo Deng
14. Moo Deng fan from Malaysia Jennifer Tang leaning over enclosure to take pictures
15. Moo Deng being splashed with water
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Jennifer Tang, visitor from Malaysia:
"She makes me happy. Whenever I’m stressed at work I pull up photos of Moo Deng. So my whole office knows that I’m here and they’re all like, okay. They let me take a week off."
17. Various of Moo Deng and mom Jona eating cake
STORYLINE:
A zoo in Thailand has held a birthday celebration for its global superstar and internet darling, the adorable baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng, who turned 1 on Thursday.
The Khao Kheow Open Zoo is holding four days of activities for Moo Deng’s birthday, starting Thursday.
Children under 12 years-old can enter the zoo, which is about two hours’ drive from the capital Bangkok, for free throughout the period.
A large makeshift cake made of fruits and vegetables was brought into Moo Deng’s enclosure, which she shares with her mom Jona.
At first Moo Deng was reticent to eat, preferring to lounge in the cool water. But once her mom began chewing on the various fruits and vegetables, she soon joined in, much to the delight of the large crowd of visitors.
"Moo Deng is my happy pill. And she’s my energy pill, my curing pill. She’s my vitamin," said Texas resident Thea Chavez, who made a 21-hour round trip just to see the pygmy hippo, her second visit this year.
"Moo Deng has brought a lot of happiness to each and everyone whether it be a heartbreak or somebody recovering from illness," she continued.
Molly Swindall was another US resident making a whistle stop tour to see Moo Deng and her third overall.
She took a few days off work to see her on her first birthday.
"I just love her so much," she said.
It isn’t clear how long Moo Deng will remain so playful and cute. The zoo says baby pygmy hippos usually lose that irresistible sparkle and become much calmer before they turn a year old.
Since February, Moo Deng has grown from 63 kilograms (140 pounds) to 93 kilograms (205 pounds).
The zoo sits on 800 hectares (almost 2,000 acres) of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals.
There are only 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild.
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