Moo Deng & Pesto: Spreading Awareness Through Our Latest Social Media Icons

Eva Borges ’28

Victoria Kenton ’25

By now, we all know of the adorable icons flooding our Instagram reels: Moo Deng, a baby hippo, and Pesto, a well-sized king penguin. From Moo Deng’s radiating glass skin to Pesto’s behemoth of fluff and cuteness, it is safe to say these animals have risen to fame via pretty privilege. But besides a pretty face, the two represent something much larger than themselves–if possible, considering Pesto’s size. Moo Deng is a pygmy hippo, estimated to have a remaining population of 2,500 worldwide (Pygmy Hippo Conservation, n.d.) While pygmy hippos might have previously been in the shadows, the uprising of Moo Deng has caused the number of visitors at Moo Deng’s home–the Khao Kheow Open Zoo–to double (Marsh, 2024). The increasing fascination with this baby hippo has brought some people’s attention and awareness to the desperate cause of preserving this species and promoting stopping human effects on pygmy hippos. Specifically, human activities have contributed to habitat loss via logging and mining, and agricultural use of land has also brought humans closer to the species, inevitably making them more susceptible to hunting (Pygmy Hippo Conservation, n.d.) Hopefully, through Moo Deng’s fame, we will see a rise in efforts to protect pygmy hippos and other endangered animals. 

Nevertheless, there is another side to this story. Although what Moo Deng and Pesto’s homes are doing may seem beneficial to these animals, the reality is that these zoological gardens, among many others, are worsening the state of conservation for these animals. Pesto’s aquarium has lied multiple times about its ethical practices: “Giant crabs and 20 turtles were ‘rescued’ by sea life.” However, this claim was false: “Sea life bought crabs directly from fishermen for thousands of pounds at a time…The turtles were acquired despite opposition from conservation organizations” (Ssssh! Don't Tell the Visitors!, n.d.) The Sea Life Melbourne aquarium has no interest in preserving animals, often keeping already thriving animals in captivity, just like Pesto’s species, the king penguin. And the Khao Kheow Open Zoo is not any better. Since the first video of Moo Deng reached the internet, the zoo has been using her and her siblings, Moo Tun and Moo Wan, for income and views with no intent of breeding this endangered species back into the wild. Moo Deng is at the zoo to bring revenue, not for her and her species’ best interest. But with attention comes the truth, as many others realize, the negatives zoos and aquariums tend to have on animals’ well-being. 

Moo Deng represents the mistreatment of an animal in a zoo and the reverse effects zoos have on conservation, while Pesto represents the unnecessary captivation of animals. Despite the positive exposure of their media presence, the drawbacks of confining animals in zoological gardens should outweigh the business benefits and possible awareness of extinction in certain species. As awareness spreads of their stories, I hope to see a brighter future for Pesto, Moo Deng, Moo Tun, and Moo Wan, as well as all the wrongly captivated animals worldwide. 

References

Pygmy hippo conservation | ZSL. (n.d.). Www.zsl.org.  https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/projects/pygmy-hippo-conservation

Ssssh! Don’t tell the visitors! (n.d.). Sea Lies. https://sea-lies.org.uk/ssssh-dont-tell-the-visitors/

The. (2024, September 26). Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. 

https://woodstocksanctuary.org/woodstock-blog/the-spectacle-of-moo-deng-the-myth-of-zoo-conservation