LONDON (AP) — The Edinburgh Zoo launched a cuteness contest between Haggis, its new child pygmy hippo, and Moo Deng, the lovely mini hippopotamus that turned a viral sensation at a Thailand zoo this summer time.
“Moo Deng? Who deng?” the Scottish zoo playfully posted Monday on the social media platform X because it launched its toddler hippo to the world.
The smack discuss pitted two critters with extra in frequent than simply being females calves of the identical endangered species. They’re additionally named for meat merchandise that don’t usually carry cute connotations.
Haggis, the nationwide dish of Scotland that’s butt of many jokes, is made in a sheep’s abdomen stuffed with spiced and diced innards. Moo deng is a kind of meatball which means “bouncy pork” in Thai.
Moo Deng, a pudgy, pink-cheeked pygmy hippo, shortly turned a social media star about two months after being born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in July. Movies of her went viral and she or he was the supply of infinite memes.
The Thai zoo deliberate to copyright and trademark the hippo’s identify and capitalize on its fame by making shirts, pants and different merchandise to help its operations.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland can also be trying to money in on its prize pygmy with a drawing promising the winner a “distinctive pygmy hippo expertise” to satisfy Haggis and her mother and father, Gloria and Otto. Tickets are 5 British kilos ($6.50) and the zoo had raised greater than half its 15,000 pound ($19,500) goal in a day.
“Put together to fall in love with wee Haggis,” the zoo mentioned. “Together with her playful nature, Haggis will present you why the world has fallen in love with pygmy hippos!”
There are solely an estimated 2,500 pygmy hippopotamuses within the wild in West Africa, the place it’s threatened by poaching and lack of habitat.
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Edinburgh Zoo guests gained’t instantly have the ability to see Haggis, who was born Oct. 30, as a result of the hippo home will likely be closed throughout the first month of her growth.
After utilizing Moo Deng’s fame to attract consideration to Haggis, the zoo apologized for making a rivalry.
“We have been mistaken to pit Haggis and Moo Deng towards one another,” the zoo mentioned in a later submit. “There’s house on this world for 2 lovely pygmy hippo divas and we must always have fun all of them.”
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