The "bouncing pig" that went viral on social networks is actually not a pig! It is now an endangered species, with only a few thousand left in the world

Some time ago, a Thai pygmy hippopotamus named Moo Deng became an overnight sensation and was reported by major websites. Domestic and foreign netizens crazily forwarded photos of this cyber pet on social media.

Moo Deng with a magical expression

Moo Deng was born in July 2024 and his name means "pork meatball" or "bouncing pig" in Thai.

Internet celebrity standing in the rice bowl | Source: YouTube

Yes, you read it right. It is such a straightforward and funny name that perfectly describes its slippery, crystal-like, round and bouncy appearance. It has also earned various nicknames such as "stewed pork elbow", "portable gas tank" and "hairless version of Capybara".

In addition to its cute appearance and funny name, it always has an angry or extremely frightened expression, making it a "walking emoticon package."

Terrified Pork Meatballs | Source: bing

Pygmy hippopotamus = a smaller version of hippopotamus?

The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), also known as the dwarf hippopotamus, is not a smaller version of the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). The two are the only two remaining genera and species in the Hippopotidae family and can be considered distant relatives.

Adult hippos completely crush adult pygmy hippos in terms of size . The former can weigh 1 to 2 tons on average, and captive hippos can even weigh more than 3 tons, while the latter weighs about 200 kilograms, is only about 1.5 meters long, and is only 0.8 meters high at the shoulder.

Hippopotamus, the world's third largest land mammal, likes to live in groups Source: Wiki

Pygmy hippopotamus prefer to act alone or in pairs Source: wiki

So we can see the background of Meatball - her mother who is eating all the time and her figure is not very "tall".

In addition, the toes of hippos and pygmy hippos are slightly different . The skin between the toes of pygmy hippos is less (the webbed feet are narrower) and the toes are more separated. This structure is suitable for walking in the muddy rainforest, while hippos prefer to stay in the water all the time. However, pygmy hippos can also swim. Like hippos, they also run underwater instead of really swimming.

The pygmy hippopotamus is a nocturnal animal. They usually hide in their nests in the water during the day and come ashore to find food at night. Therefore, it is very difficult to track and study the pygmy hippopotamus in the wild. People's understanding of the pygmy hippopotamus mainly comes from the captive populations in zoos around the world.

In the wild, the pygmy hippopotamus is only found in the tropical rainforests and swamps of West Africa. In recent years, their habitat has been almost completely destroyed by human logging, gold mining and other activities, coupled with poaching by some lawless elements, their numbers have become very scarce. Scientists estimate that there are only 2,000 to 3,000 wild pygmy hippopotamuses left, and they have been listed as endangered species by the IUCN.

Humans, can you bear to let a little cutie like me disappear? | Source: YouTube

A hairless version of "Capybara"?

It’s ok that many friends with face blindness mistake Meatball for a piglet, after all, it is round like a piglet, but many people with severe face blindness mistake it for a Capybara.

But apart from their similarities in temperament, they are completely different in other aspects:

1

skin

The Capybara is hairy, while the Pygmy Hippopotamus is completely naked. The skin of the Pygmy Hippopotamus is very sensitive and will dry out easily when out of water , so they need to soak in water to keep their skin elastic. There are also special glands under their skin that can secrete a special mucus that has moisturizing, sun protection and antibacterial effects.

2

teeth

As the largest rodent in the world, the Capybara has very regular incisors, while the Pygmy Hippopotamus's teeth have a kind of "interlaced" beauty.

As top-tier cute creatures, if you really want to find similarities between the pygmy hippopotamus and the capybara, there are some. For example, they are both semi-aquatic herbivores , with small, fluttering, extremely flexible ears and cute, large flat paws , but the pygmy hippopotamus has 4 toes on both front and back limbs, while the capybara has 4 toes on the front limbs and 3 toes on the hind limbs.

Capybara moves its ears | Source: See watermark

Pygmy hippopotamus moves ears

Why do many animals have the word "wo" in their names?

In fact, there are many animals with the word "Wo" in their names. For example, if there are chimpanzees, there are bonobos, and if there are armadillos, there are pygmy armadillos. It's like a conjugate existence! As long as they are a little shorter than their companions with some kinship, they will be called "Wo-something".

Why do so many animals have the word "wo" in their names? This is actually a translation problem . The English name of the pygmy hippopotamus is pygmy hippo, and the English name of the bonobo is bonabo, or pygmy chimpanzee.

What they all have in common is the word pygmy . The name pygmy comes from Greek and was originally a unit of length measurement in ancient Greece , roughly the distance from the elbow to the knuckles.

There are also pygmy peoples among humans, which refers to tribes in Central Africa with a lower average height. Later, in anthropology, it generally refers to ethnic groups with abnormally short average height.

Of course, in addition to being translated as "Wo" in Chinese, pygmy is sometimes translated as "zhong" which means dwarf , which can express the same meaning and describe shortness, such as the pygmy anteater. These animals with the words "Wo" or "zhong" are really mini and cute.

Planning and production

Source: Shanghai Natural History Museum

Author: Short-faced Bear Shanghai Natural History Museum Exhibition and Education Center

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin