Thailand’s baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng now has an official song in 4 languages

By: The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

BANGKOK (AP) — In case you can’t get enough of the little pygmy hippo Moo Deng from Thailand, there's now an official song featuring the internet's favorite baby animal — released in four languages for her global fans.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2024 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BANGKOK (AP) — In case you can’t get enough of the little pygmy hippo Moo Deng from Thailand, there’s now an official song featuring the internet’s favorite baby animal — released in four languages for her global fans.

The upbeat 50-second song “Moodeng Moodeng,” available in Thai, English, Chinese and Japanese versions, features simple lyrics like “Moo Deng Moo Deng, boing boing boing/ Mommy mommy, play with me.” Its music video consists of short clips of the baby hippo bouncing, playing with her keeper or hanging out with her mom Jona.

The catchy number was produced and written by well-known Thai composer Mueanphet Ammara, and released by one of Thailand’s largest music companies, GMM Music.

FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng walks at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng walks at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Moo Deng — the name literally means “bouncy pork,” a type of meatball, in Thai — became a global phenomenon just a month after she was unveiled on Facebook by the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand’s southern Chon Buri province.

Fans say her name compliments her chaotic personality. Moo Deng likes to “deng,” or bounce, and her giddy bouncing has appeared all over social media in countless memes. Her image has been used by sports teams and businesses.

The hippo, now 4 months old, has drawn a huge amount of visitors to the zoo, which is around two-hour drive away from the capital Bangkok. The zoo estimated it has received 3,000 to 5,000 visitors a day on average in the past few months, and it’s selling clothes, bedding and other merchandise based on Moo Deng.

Zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi has said the increasing income from Moo Deng will help its breeding programs for many endangered species like the pygmy hippopotamus, which is threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. The species is native to West Africa and there are only 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild.

The zoo sits on 800 hectares (almost 2,000 acres) of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals.

FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

All four versions of the Moo Deng song are available on YouTube and streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files Artist Carey Newman with Witness Blanket, which features objects recovered from residential schools. Newman hopes legislation can be introduced to preserve records detailing abuse at the schools.

Clock ticks down on destruction of records documenting residential school abuses

Marsha McLeod 13 minute read Preview

Clock ticks down on destruction of records documenting residential school abuses

Marsha McLeod 13 minute read Yesterday at 12:49 PM CDT

In less than a year, a private company is set to destroy the largest cache of records detailing the widespread abuse of Indigenous children at residential schools in Canada.

The destruction, which was ordered by an Ontario court in 2014 and later upheld by the Supreme Court, is set to take place on Sept. 19, 2027.

This countdown is igniting emotional conversations that seek to balance the immense historical value of the records alongside the confidentiality survivors were promised as part of the process of providing detailed testimony about abuses they’d suffered.

The records were created as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a class-action settlement stemming from survivors who began suing the federal government in the late 1990s over the harm they’d been subjected to at residential schools.

Read
Yesterday at 12:49 PM CDT
SUPPLIED Judy Burns, centre, with daughters Chelsea Mann, left, and Samantha Burns. Judy Burns, 68, died on Jan. 21, three days after being admitted. Her family says doctors repeatedly dismissed their concerns.

Sisters relieved hospital takes accountability after mother’s death

Scott Billeck 6 minute read Preview

Sisters relieved hospital takes accountability after mother’s death

Scott Billeck 6 minute read Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Eight months after losing their mother, two Winnipeg sisters say an internal hospital review has finally given them something they had been seeking since her death: accountability.

Chelsea Mann and Samantha Burns said St. Boniface Hospital officials acknowledged mistakes were made in the care of their mother, Judy Burns, during a recent meeting to discuss the findings of a critical incident review into her death.

The acknowledgement marked a significant departure from an earlier meeting with hospital officials, when they felt their concerns were largely dismissed.

Burns, 68, died on Jan. 21, three days after being admitted, after experiencing rectal bleeding.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Scott and Marla Gillingham have breakfast at home on Saturday morning.

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

Malak Abas 12 minute read Preview

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

Malak Abas 12 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:56 PM CDT

In the weeks leading up to the civic election, Scott Gillingham has been performing a juggling act: he’s running to be Winnipeg’s 45th mayor, while still serving as its 44th.

“If someone asks me about the campaign, I’m going to answer them. But I think for most people, I’m the mayor of Winnipeg, even if I’m showing up as a candidate,” Gillingham, 58, says. “I try to do all I can to maintain that distinction.”

The Free Press joined Gillingham on a recent rainy September Saturday on the campaign trail, where he served in both roles during an event-laden day. City council’s final meeting before the Oct. 28 election was days earlier.

In Winnipeg, it’s rare for an incumbent to be defeated. But Gillingham knows his win in 2022 wasn’t exactly a landslide — he won with 27.5 per cent of the vote — and he’s been thinking about his second term ever since.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:56 PM CDT

22-year-old dead, 18-year-old in critical condition after Highway 8 crash

1 minute read Yesterday at 1:52 PM CDT

A 22-year-old man is dead and an 18-year-old is in hospital in critical condition after a two-vehicle crash on Highway 8 on Thursday evening.

A Gimli RCMP officer was driving north on the highway, near Riverton, when he witnessed the collision at about 6:45 p.m.

A vehicle headed north had passed the Mountie at a high speed before colliding with an SUV that was turning west onto Provincial Road 329 from Highway 8.

The driver of the first vehicle, an 18-year-old man from Arborg, was rushed to hospital by a helicopter ambulance with injuries RCMP describe as serious and life-threatening.

May be whiff of truth to ex’s odour ardour

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I ran into an old boyfriend I used to curl on a team with, and we went for drinks. We’ve been almost eight years apart, and I couldn’t remember why we broke up, as we always had such a great time together.

It wasn’t until the second date — this time on a weekend — that it came back to me, with a jolt. Pee-yew! I remembered he doesn’t use deodorant on weekends. Why? He enjoys his own body odour. I recalled that a bit too late, and it was just as awful as ever! I went home early.

Tonight, he called and I refused him another date. I said, “Think back. You remember why we broke up?” Then he said, “Oh yeah, you hated my no-deodorant weekend policy. Well, guess what? Some women don’t mind!” I said I really doubted that, and that ended the conversation. Miss L., wouldn’t any women find stinky underarms offensive?

— Sensitive Nose, Fort Richmond

Supplied Canada Packers cutline please

Brandonmeat packer thriving on its own

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Brandonmeat packer thriving on its own

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

BRANDON — Canada Packers has strengthened its business and laid the foundation for future growth during its first year as an independent company, its president says.

The Brandon-based pork producer, separated from Maple Leaf Foods in October 2025, established its own leadership, strategy, systems, culture and identity while continuing operations across its hog production farms and regional hog barns in southern and eastern Manitoba.

The company’s first year was focused on building a successful standalone business while continuing to serve customers, communities and shareholders, president Dennis Organ said.

“Market conditions over the past year have been more challenging than we anticipated when we became a separate entity,” he said in an email. “Despite that, we continued to execute against our priorities, including increasing processing volumes, maintaining disciplined operations and strengthening the business.”

Read
2:01 AM CDT