Moo Deng mania: Woman flies halfway around the world to see viral baby hippo

Bangkok, Thailand - One devoted animal lover spent several days and thousands of dollars traveling from New York to Thailand to visit TikTok's favorite baby hippo, Moo Deng.

Molly Swindall traveled halfway around the world for the cute baby hippo Moo Deng.
Molly Swindall traveled halfway around the world for the cute baby hippo Moo Deng.  © Collage: Screenshots/TikTok/@1989vinyl

Molly Swindall (30) fell in love with the pygmy hippo at the start of the animal's internet fame.

Moo Deng became an overnight viral sensation when her keepers at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand – her birthplace – began posting the hippo's funny moments in short clips.

"I am absolutely in love with that shiny, moist potato," Swindall told the New York Post in a recent interview.

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She took her first trip to see the cute animal on October 2, spending a total of 21 hours traveling.

18.5 of those hours were spent on a plane, all to spend just 30 hours in Thailand.

This trip cost her around $1,100 dollars, and she documented her trip on TikTok, where she also posted videos of the spunky social media star herself.

Molly Swindall visits another viral baby animal!

The TikToker also visited the cute penguin Pesto.
The TikToker also visited the cute penguin Pesto.  © Screenshot/TikTok/@1989vinyl

But Moo Deng – whose name roughly translates to "bouncy pork" – isn't the only viral animal Molly has paid a visit to recently!

Less than two weeks later, she traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to see the "little wobble king" Pesto, a baby penguin who similarly became another viral internet sensation in recent week.

After seeing the oversized baby Pesto on October 11, Molly returned to Bangkok a second time the following day because she "missed Moo Deng so much."

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She spent a total of 50.5 hours traveling to see the two animals, and her second trip also gave her the opportunity to explore Bangkok, which she described as the highlight of her "magical" and" surreal" experience.

"The only thing I would change was being able to stay longer," Molly told the outlet.

"It was really sad to leave, especially once I had the realization that the next time I see Moo Deng, she will likely be fully grown."

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/TikTok/@1989vinyl

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