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 beloved on TikTok, Instagram and X that workers at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the place where she was born in Thailand, are doing everything they can to satisfy her fans’ appetite for more. They post videos, photos, updates. They also welcome thousands of visitors a day and find themselves having to defend Moo Deng when tourists arrive. Throwing shells towards her while she is just trying to relax.
Moo Deng, a name that means “jumping pig,” has probably been all over your feed lately. Sephora Makeup Tutorialsin X Main FeedBorn in July, he has become the Internet’s new favorite animal in recent weeks. A tradition almost as old as the Internet itself, Favorite Animals: Maru, any of the dogs from the camera for shiba inu puppiesThose two flames that by chance ran free The same day Everyone was trying to decide what color the dress was, which appeared in the public consciousness seemingly out of nowhere. Some, like Doge, stay; others disappear or simply stop being adorable within weeks.
All of this makes it urgent to cash in on their fame. It seems cruel to think of animals this way, but if their owners don’t, someone else will. Perhaps that’s why the zoo’s director, Narongwit Chodchoi he told the Associated Press This week, the zoo has begun the process of trying to trademark and patent the hippo to prevent its image from being used by anyone else — a smart move considering that Moo Deng mugs, T-shirts and other merchandise are already available. appearing onlineProceeds from these efforts, Chodcho told the news agency, could “support activities that will improve the lives of animals.”
Moo Deng might need it. The fandom is getting a little out of control Today, as pop stars like Chappell Roan have amassed fame online and offline, they have also had to use their platforms to ask for space Of limitless fans and stalkers. Social media celebrities like Drew Afualo, on whose podcast Roan appeared to speak about the issue, also tell stories of people who simply knew them from the internet and approached them in public.
It may seem strange to compare them to favorite animals, but the ways in which people feel entitled to their time aren’t all that different. Everyone wants something to Instagram, even if that something is a living being with its own sense of agency. One of Moo Deng’s ideas The most popular TikToks It has 34 million visitors and the zoo staff has had to limit their visiting time to five minutes on Saturdays and Sundays to prevent too many people from trying to get their own content.
Trademark protections may be the best way for Moo Deng’s keepers to ensure that others don’t take advantage of his viral fame. When Jools Lebron tried to trademark his “very demure, very conscious” meme, one of the obstacles that arose was that it’s difficult to claim ownership of a phrase. As Kate Miltner, a professor of data, artificial intelligence and society at the University of Sheffield’s School of Information, told me at the time, memes with audiovisual elements, such as Nyan Cat or Grumpy Cat, are easier to trademark. “People will invariably try to make money off of 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 is wise of Khao Kheow Open Zoo (at least trying) to ensure that they are the ones to do it.”