So she’s not a marine animal — not an otter, an orca, or a penguin — which I tend to favor. But she does like to swim, and she has captured my heart in spite of (or maybe because of) her rotund figure, flared nostrils, bristly little whiskers, and protruding ears. She is two-month-old Moo Deng — the cutest little West African pygmy hippo ever — and she lives in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, about 60 miles from Bangkok.

Her name, by the way, roughly translates to “bouncy pig,” which suits her completely. Say hello now to Moo Deng:

Pygmy hippos, also known as dwarf hippos, are native to West Africa and are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are believed to be fewer than 3,000 left in the wild, which makes Moo Deng even more special. [Nick Marsh, BBC News, September 13, 2024.]

She has, in fact, become an internet sensation in Thailand, and the number of zoo visitors has doubled since her birth. I would gladly join the crowds standing in line to see her, if she weren’t halfway around the world. So I will have to content myself with pictures like this one:

Thanks for posing, Moo Deng. You have made my day much brighter, when all the other news was grim and scary. I hope you know that — if for no other reason than your incredible cuteness — your life has meaning.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/14/24