Why absolutely everyone is obsessed with Moo Deng
(And wait until you hear about Pesto the penguin.)
The three are a pygmy hippo, king penguin, and beaver, respectively, and they’re some of the latest celebrities to captivate the internet.
Moo Deng — a 2-month-old pygmy hippo known for her sass and moistness — is perhaps the most viral of the trio, and has attracted upwards of 33 million views across platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Based in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, Moo Deng is often seen playfully biting her zookeeper with an exasperated expression, spawning hundreds of memes and a Saturday Night Live segment.
Pesto, meanwhile, is a fluffy king penguin chick who’s risen to fame for just how large he is. He lives at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia and is already twice his parents’ size despite only being 9 months old. He’s been the subject of numerous social media posts and developed a dedicated fan following of millions.
And Nibi is an adorable and vivacious 2-year-old beaver who was rescued as a baby — and is the subject of a recent Massachusetts court battle. At issue was whether Nibi, who resides at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, had to be returned to the wild. According to Newhouse, Nibi would die if they released her, because she doesn’t yet have the skills to survive. Roughly 29,000 people signed a petition calling for Nibi to remain at the rescue, and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has since issued a permit allowing her to do so.
There are a lot of cute animals out there, and humans tend to be attracted to them because of something scientists call “baby schema,” the idea that humans generally feel warmly toward creatures that resemble babies because of how protective they are of infants.
“Mammals are favorably inclined toward individuals that have infant-like traits: large heads, big eyes relative to those heads, rounded features, and typically an awkward gait,” David Barash, a psychology professor emeritus at the University of Washington, told Vox. “These traits are characteristic of human babies and toddlers, so it’s adaptive for us to treat them favorably, to see them as especially cute.”
Baby schema alone can’t explain why Moo Deng, Pesto, and Nibi have become so popular, however. While they benefit from their infant-like appearances, they also likely garnered a sizable degree of attention because they have unique personalities that reflect essential parts of the human experience, from frustration at things outside our control to delight in small pleasures. Exposure to animal content, in general, has also been found to provide stress relief, comfort, and escapism at a time when Americans in particular are more stressed than ever.
Why so many people are drawn to these animals
The cuteness factor has always been a big reason that people are drawn to animals — but the internet’s latest faves seem to have achieved a rare type of animal celebrity.
And a big part of that could be tied to each animal’s strong personality. Researchers have found that people are attracted to content and characters that validate their own experiences, and that reflect their own beliefs or feelings.
“We do like to see characters that are going through the same thing we’re going through,” Matthew Grizzard, a communications professor at The Ohio State University, previously told the BBC.
When it comes to Moo Deng, for example, her expression of apparent frustration — which commonly takes the form of open-mouthed yelling — embodies the stress and annoyance that many of her fans are experiencing amid ongoing uncertainty in the world. “I love that Moo Deng is fucking annoyed all the time. I can relate,” as one online Moo Deng fan wrote.
Nibi, too, has been described as a “diva” for her mischievous behavior and playful facial expressions, both of which have resonated with supporters, because they show off a certain aspirational swagger. In one TikTok post, comedian Danny Murphy compared her to that of other “2024 icons” like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter.
And Pesto, in addition to his unique identity as a “chonky king,” — a title some fans have given him — has also become known for how much he enjoys food. According to his keepers, Pesto consumes roughly 25 to 32 fish a day, prompting internet observers to share their similar love of fish and sushi.
“If you can assign this sort of unexpected emotion to an animal, it’s effective,” Roger Dooley, a consumer marketing expert, previously told the Christian Science Monitor, about the appeal of memes like Grumpy Cat, a feline known for his dour facial expression. “I think we don’t expect our animals to be grumpy, so as a result you have that novelty factor at work too.”
Broadly, animal content has also been found to have a soothing effect on people that can help relieve stress by providing distraction or comfort. A 2019 University of Leeds Study, for example, found that showing college students preparing for finals a 30-minute montage of cute animal content helped reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rates.
“There’s no doubt that people turn to all sorts of escapist options when they’re anxious,” Barash told Vox, noting that pet adoptions and purchases also spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic when more people had heightened stress levels and were looking for support.
Like other viral animals that have come before them, Moo Deng, Pesto, and Nibi have gained a following both because their cuteness can be pleasing, and because they’re appearing to convey emotions that reflect how many people are feeling at the moment.
