Moo Deng Surges As Viral Pygmy Hippo’s Birthday Plans Revealed by Zoo

In brief

Moo Deng turns one next week, June 10, and her Zoo is planning a three-day event to celebrate.
The pygmy hippo went viral last year as the internet swooned over cute photos and goofy videos of Moo Deng just being herself.
A Solana meme coin skyrocketed on last year’s virality and surged on Thursday morning following the announcement of Moo Deng’s birthday plans.

Solana meme coin Moo Deng surged 32.9% to a market cap of $183 million on Thursday, according to CoinGecko. The jump comes as plans for the viral baby hippo’s birthday next week were revealed by Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

The Thailand-based Zoo will be throwing a three-day event next week, including a Moo Deng-themed art exhibition, a photo gallery, and a parade of animal mascots. The Zoo will also gift Moo Deng a giant cake on her birthday, June 10, when she turns one year old.

Pygmy hippo Moo Deng captured the hearts of the internet from a zoo in Thailand in September last year, thanks to a stream of adorable pictures and videos. The then-two-month-old hippo was so popular that her enclosure was crowded from the moment the Zoo opened, with tourists travelling from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the meme sensation.

In turn, an unofficial Solana meme coin of the same name quickly skyrocketed to a market cap of $336 million in September, according to DEX Screener, before dropping 81% to $63 million over the following month. Moo Deng season wasn’t over, however, as the token surged 1,004% to $702.85 million by mid-November 2024, following a listing from centralized exchange Binance among other things.

Moo Deng then fell 94% to $39 million as attention for the adorable hippo waned, before a healthy 718% pump back up to $320 million, which it fell 58% from to $135 million.

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The latest surge comes as the internet has regained interest in Moo Deng, with her birthday inching closer. On Thursday, a Moo Deng content creator claimed that the U.S. embassy in Thailand sent the cute hippo a gift, but the Zoo has yet to open it.

It’s worth noting that other Moo Deng tokens haven’t seen as much impact from the news, with the Ethereum token climbing just 5.6% to a market cap of $11.8 million. Similarly, the Sui-based Sudeng token jumped 13.9% to $18.9 million.