Baby animals. Who doesn’t love them? In recent months, two international baby animals have taken the internet by storm with thousands of people traveling across the world to get a peek. In Jan. 2024, Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium welcomed its most famous addition to their establishment: a giant fluffy baby penguin, Pesto. Larger than both of his parents and having a hearty appetite, the nine-month-old weighs in at just over fifty pounds. The penguin’s popularity arose when he broke the aquarium’s record as the largest king penguin there. His fame circuited again in September when the keepers threw the penguin chick a viral gender reveal party, getting DNA results back from the lab after drawing his blood for gender identification. A keeper is shown slicing into a cake to reveal blue inside.
“I love how massive he is compared to his mom, even though that’s just fluff,” junior Cory Stephens said.
But what is the cause of the chick’s outrageous size? Genes and his love of fish. His biological father, Blake, is the largest adult penguin at the aquarium and weighs a staggering 39 pounds while Pesto’s foster parents both weigh an average 24 pounds.
Over 4,700 miles away is another baby animal that has the internet hooked: Moo Deng, a 2-month-old Pygmy hippo. With her name meaning “bouncy pork,” Moo Deng has accumulated fans from all over the world thanks to Khao Kheow Zoo posting her antics online. She is often shown chasing zookeepers around her enclosure and trying to bite the water from water hoses. There is even a 24-hour livestream for her adoring fans to watch the baby hippo’s every move throughout the day.
“Her facial expressions are so adorable,” junior Ainsley Heckert said. “She’s just very silly.”
Not everybody is as welcoming to the baby hippo, however, as there have been reports of guests throwing things at Moo Deng in order to get her attention.
“I feel awful about it,” Stephens said. “I hate the human race for doing that. Why are you throwing rocks at an animal?”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, people are traveling far and wide to Melbourne, Australia and Zhao Kheow, Thailand to visit the animals.
“I would too, honestly,” Heckert said. “If I had the money, I would travel and see Moo Deng [and] Pesto [and] take selfies with both of them. That’d be me.”
Over the course of several years, the internet has seen a trend in viral animals, from beloved fluffy pets to strange exotic species.
“People love cute or odd animals,” Stephens said. “It’s like it’s happened before with Grumpy Cat, the little wisp kitten. People just like cute animals.”
The ongoing love and support for Pesto and Moo Deng continues to flourish across the internet as their viral videos gain traction and fans appear by the masses.
“They’re very cute and they just resonate with people of all ages. Like kids think they’re really silly; adults think they’re really silly–they’re just little silly guys,” Heckert said. “Everyone will have them in their hearts [and] in their memories from this time.”
