From Moo Deng to Punch: 5 Viral Zoo Animals Who Broke the Internet and Where They Are Now

They inspired fan art, sold out plushies worldwide and drew tearful crowds to zoos. Here’s a look at some of the animal kingdom’s biggest breakout stars

NEED TO KNOW

• Viral animals like Moo Deng and Punch captivated global audiences, boosting zoo attendance and merchandise sales
• These internet-famous creatures often spotlighted endangered species and raised awareness about conservation efforts
• Experts warn that viral fame can stress animals, but fans cherish their ability to unite people

Every so often, an animal comes along who doesn’t just trend; they take over our feeds entirely.

In summer 2024, Moo Deng, a jiggly, dewy-skinned baby pygmy hippo, bounced her way out of a Thai zoo and straight into meme immortality: fan art, makeup tutorials, even Saturday Night Live sketches; Moo Deng fans were everywhere. Then, two years later, a tiny abandoned macaque named Punch clutched an IKEA orangutan plushie so tightly that he broke hearts across the globe, inspiring the hashtag #HangInTherePunch and drawing tearful crowds to his enclosure outside Tokyo.

Between and around them came a whole menagerie of overnight sensations, like an enormous baby bird and a premature miracle who grew into a 2,000-pound icon. These are the animals who managed, however briefly, to unite a fractured internet in collective gushing; the ones who got more attention than most Hollywood celebrities, sold out plushies and, in some cases, reminded the world that the cutest faces often belong to some of the planet’s most endangered species.

Here are six of the animal kingdom’s most beloved viral stars, and where they are now.

Moo Deng the Bouncy Hippo

The reigning queen of viral animals, Moo Deng was born at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo on July 10, 2024. She became an international phenomenon within weeks of her keepers posting clips of her online. Her name means “bouncy pork,” and her pink-cheeked, slippery, perpetually cranky demeanor turned her into meme gold.

At the height of the frenzy, the zoo drew as many as 10,000 visitors a day, prompting new rules to protect the skittish calf from overzealous fans. Her fame also spotlighted the plight of her species: pygmy hippos are endangered, with only an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 left in the wild, according to the Zoological Society of London.

And Moo Deng is still flourishing and remains the internet’s least problematic star. She recently celebrated her second birthday with a three-day zoo bash that included time with a skincare expert, mascot parades, and a photo exhibition titled “Moo Deng in Every Moment” that chronicled her life journey.

Punch the Monkey

In early 2026, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque named Punch became the internet’s newest underdog. Born in July 2025 at Ichikawa City Zoo and Botanical Gardens near Tokyo, Punch was abandoned by his first-time mother, who zoo officials said was too weak to care for him during an extreme summer heat wave, according to previous PEOPLE reporting.

Zookeepers hand-raised the monkey and, after experimenting with towels and other toys, gave him a big-eyed orangutan plushie from IKEA that he refused to put down. Videos of the tiny monkey dragging his oversized companion and being roughhoused by other monkeys went viral, inspiring the hashtag #HangInTherePunch and drawing crowds of international visitors.

Zookeepers say Punch has steadily integrated with his troop of 60 macaques and now has more friends than ever; he received over 2,500 birthday cards for his first birthday this summer, along with many stuffed animals.

Pesto the Big Baby Penguin

Pesto proved that viral fame isn’t just for the conventionally dainty. Hatched Jan. 31, 2024, at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia, the king penguin chick ballooned to a staggering 50 lbs. thanks to a diet of roughly 25 fish a day.

His towering, fluffy brown frame made him the biggest chick the aquarium had ever seen. After a September 2024 gender reveal, he became a global sensation, earning fans including Katy Perry and Olivia Rodrigo.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, Pesto’s popularity drove a 30% increase in aquarium visits. The penguin has since molted his baby fluff and slimmed down to a sleek 32-lb. adult, according to ABC News. He has also found a companion named Pudding. How deliciously fitting!

Haggis the Moo Deng Rival

When Edinburgh Zoo announced the birth of its own pygmy hippo calf on Nov. 4, 2024, shortly after Moo Deng’s arrival, it did so with a cheeky social media post that read, “Moo Deng? Who deng?”

Born Oct. 30 to parents Otto and Gloria, Haggis, named after Scotland’s national dish, was instantly framed as Moo Deng’s cross-continental cuteness rival.

The playful smack talk earned a shout-out on SNL‘s Weekend Update, though the zoo later posted a mock apology “for creating a rivalry,” insisting there was “space in this world for two beautiful pygmy hippo divas.” Haggis has since moved to Wingham Wildlife Park in England.

Fiona the Premature Miracle

Before Moo Deng and Haggis, there was Fiona, who is arguably the pygmy hippo craze’s spiritual predecessor, though she’s a Nile hippo.

Born six weeks premature at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in January 2017, Fiona weighed just 29 lbs. at birth, a record low that left her unable to nurse or stand on her own. Zoo staff hand-reared her and shared her fragile journey online, drawing millions of views and thousands of #TeamFiona fans.

She survived against the odds and grew into a healthy adult weighing around 2,000 pounds. She became a big sister in 2022 and has since remained one of the zoo’s most beloved residents.

Viral animal fame comes with a built-in expiration date: babies grow up.

As CNN noted in a 2025 feature, zoos and aquariums increasingly rely on a single breakout star to drive attendance and merchandise revenue, including Moo Deng’s breakout into music and Pesto’s plushies selling out worldwide, but keepers must eventually manage the public’s disappointment when the “brown ball of fluff” becomes a sleek adult.

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Animal welfare groups have also cautioned that virality can bring unintended stress, from overcrowded enclosures to constant camera flashes, according to Wild Welfare. Still, the animals unite fans — some of whom line up for hours and travel across oceans to meet them — and teach countless people about endangered animals and the conservation efforts that can protect them.

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