Move over, cats. A new cute creature has taken over the internet. Baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng is everywhere. Videos. Photos. Makeup tutorials. Memes. Saturday Night Live. The damp, gray roly-poly creature is a bonafide celebrity. She’s the latest in a series of adorable creatures that have achieved internet star status. Where does this urge to glorify cute animals come from? Scientists are studying the phenomenon and how it reveals deeper truths about human nature.
Moo Deng makes a compelling case for cute-animal worship. Her name translates to “bouncy pork.” She’s sassy. She runs around her enclosure at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand and bites her keepers’ legs. Thousands of people per day flock to see her in person. The zoo pumps out Moo Deng content on social media to satisfy her adoring fans. There’s a 24-hour livestream where viewers chat about buying Moo Deng t-shirts and how she likes to snooze with her mom in a pond. It’s easy to get swept up in the fun.
Baby humans and baby hippos
Humans may be flipping for Moo Deng because of a basic part of our nature: our drive to care for infants. Research professor Daniel Kruger with the University of Michigan and University at Buffalo works with ethology, the study of human behavior through a biological lens. His work involves understanding how humans react to infants of non-human species, particularly ones that need care from their parents after birth.
Kruger found that people are attracted to baby animals that share features with human babies. These features include round faces, enlarged eyes, large foreheads and small chins. Sound familiar? That’s what Moo Deng looks like. “Moo Deng pushes all our buttons,” says Kruger. “She’s pudgy like an infant. She has cute movements. She’s roly-poly and does fun things.” The pull to care for infants is one of the foundations of success for humans. “This is so powerful that it cuts across species,” says Kruger.
What is a pygmy hippo?
The pygmy hippopotamus is known to scientists by its formal name Choeropsis liberiensis. Pygmy hippos are half as tall and weigh about a quarter as much as a full-size hippo, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation conservation group. They live in forested areas of West Africa. “Pygmy hippos are nocturnal and reclusive by nature so, coupled with the vastly declined numbers over the last few decades, little is known about their behaviors in the wild,” the organization said in an explainer. Newborns can weigh as little as 10 pounds. Like their full-size relatives, pygmy hippos love water. Moo Deng’s staff often spray her down and she has access to a pond within her enclosure.
The species is classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN estimates less than 2,500 mature individuals still exist in the wild. The population is decreasing under threat from human intrusions, loss of habitat and hunting.
Stephanie Preston, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, studies the neurobiology of empathy and altruism. She sees a potentially positive side to the human interest in Moo Deng. “The more exposure people have, the more likely they are to consider it important to conserve the spaces where the species live,” Preston says. “We’re losing species at an alarming rate at this point.” She points out that Moo Deng’s cuteness makes her easy to love as a mascot for conservation, but even not-so-cute animals deserve our attention and care.
Kruger also hopes the hype around Moo Deng translates into conservation efforts for the endangered species. “If people appreciate the cuteness and they want to help Moo Deng and help her family, this can help motivate preservation and conservation efforts.” Conservation organization Fauna & Flora is working to protect pygmy hippos through surveys and habitat assessments, and by developing a national action plan with Liberia where most of the remaining wild animals are found.
Moo Deng’s future
Moo Deng is the animal of the moment, but there have been other popular creatures before her. Grumpy Cat was once an inescapable phenomenon. Boo the Pomeranian with the floofy haircut had millions of Facebook followers. Both Grumpy Cat and Boo have died, and no longer dominate the internet landscape. Fat Bear Week is a perennial attention-grabber for its pudgy Alaskan brown bears, but the frenzy is focused on a short time period.
Eventually, Moo Deng will grow up, and that might come with a dampening of interest as she sheds some of the infant-like features. “Not that many adult animals can evoke this response because once they’re adults, they lose some of those features that are especially cute,” says Preston. Moo Deng might have an advantage over some other baby animals. Adult hippos are still round and bouncy. “I think it will still be cute because it’s a pygmy species and hippos are sort of cute anyway,” Preston says.
Watch the livestream. Ooh and aah over Moo Deng’s social media posts. Share some glistening memes. It’s okay to be engaged with a baby animal that has no idea she’s a star. Moo Deng’s story is about a hippo, but it’s also about humanity. “It tells us that we have this inherent attraction toward creatures that are helpless, that need our care,” says Preston. “And it’s a beautiful endowment that we want to care for these individuals and these animals.”
