Moo Deng and Pesto: The newest baby animals gaining internet fame

From relatable content to funny babies and comical memes, social media and internet users are no strangers to viral content.

Although the viral content has changed from time to time, one specific type does not fail to reoccur: cute animals.

This recurring cycle was seen throughout social media in 2012 with Grumpy Cat and Nala Cat, Doge starting in 2013, Jiffpom the Pomeranian and Doug the Pug in 2014 and many more. 

However, starting in September 2024, a new set of animals have stolen the hearts of social media users.

Their names? Moo Deng and Pesto.But who even are they?

“Moo Deng is the little baby hippo who’s kind of aggressive towards people, and then Pesto is that giant penguin baby that’s like, bigger than his parents,” Political science pre-law senior Luc Heiss said.

Baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng, who resides in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, gained fame through viral videos uploaded on social media showcasing her feistiness.

On the other hand, baby king penguin Pesto, who resides in the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium in Australia, became viral on social media due to videos showcasing his large size. He weighs just under 50 pounds, which is more than the weight of his parents combined.

Kinesiology sophomore Zhina Zabihian said she stumbled across the two animals on Instagram.

Similarly, Heiss said he figured out who they were through TikTok videos that his sister sent to him. Human biology senior Ayoka Razaki said that she first encountered them through a popular Instagram page.

“I think the first time I heard about Moo Deng was on MSU Chicks, they posted something about it, like ‘Oh, me this week’ and a picture of it, and I was like ‘What does this mean?’ and then I kind of forgot about it,” Razaki said. “Then I started going on TikTok, and it started popping up, and I was like, ‘Oh, I see the reference.’ Then directly from there, I went to the comments on one of the TikToks, and they’re like, ‘Almost as cute as Pesto,’ and then I went into a Pesto deep dive where I watched a bunch of videos of Pesto and (he’s) cute as well.”

Razaki said although the animals are cute, the popularity of Moo Deng and Pesto seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

“I think they’re cute, I think it’s a cute thing for people to obsess over this, like, penguin and hippo,” Razaki said. “(It’s) just like a random thing out of nowhere, because it’s not like they’re new to the world, but they just thought these two specifically were too cute.”

Moo Deng and Pesto have gained so much popularity through the trend so many other cute animals have followed, Zabihian said. 

“I think because they’re just really cute animals,” Zabihian said. “I don’t think there has been a moment in time where cute animals don’t go viral.”

According to Heiss, their fame is due to their ability to provide a little bit of relief during hard times.

“I think they just bring a little bit of comedic humor to everyone,” Heiss said. “It’s a stressful time in our world right now, and it’s just a little bit of comedic relief for everyone… People love relief from stress, and animals provide that.”

Razaki said their popularity, in large part, can be attributed to the nature of the internet and social media.

“I think the internet these days, it takes one thing and kind of runs with it,” Razaki said. “So even if it’s smaller they’re gonna drag this out. Everyone saw these two cute zoo animals, and they were like, ‘I’m gonna make it a personality’, like, ‘I’m gonna make this a thing,’ and everyone started getting attached to it, and they’re cute, so it’s not that hard.”

After achieving notable fame, Moo Deng and Pesto have gained a large following on social media pages, and even in real life, with individuals traveling across the world to visit the two phenomenons.

Razaki said with social media in the picture, the pattern of viral animals will keep on continuing.

“I think, just like with Tiktok, since we’re all kind of seeing the same videos over and over, people will all relate to (and) feel like ‘Oh, I saw this video’ (and) ‘I saw this video,’ and it’ll become a whole big thing,” Razaki said. “Every month, a new animal pops up that’s like, popular and famous. It’s not a new thing, but it’ll keep happening.”

For Zabihian, it’s all dependent on the individuals who run the platform on behalf of the animals.

“I think it depends on what people do with the platform,” Zabihian said. “If they’re not hurting the animals, then it’s okay to keep going with having their Instagram pages up and keeping them viral and stuff like that as long as it’s helping the animals.”

However, despite the animals’ cuteness, which serves as the main attraction for individuals, Razaki said that there seemingly wasn’t anything else that made them gain popularity.

“It’s crazy that they got this popular over nothing,” Razaki said. “There’s nothing special about them but (they’re) cute.”