The Edinburgh Zoo launched a cuteness contest between Haggis, its newborn pygmy hippo, and Moo Deng, the adorable mini hippopotamus that became a viral sensation at a Thailand zoo this summer.
"Moo Deng? Who deng?" the Scottish zoo playfully posted Monday on the social media platform X as it introduced its infant hippo to the world.
The smack talk pitted two critters with more in common than just being females calves of the same endangered species. They're also named for meat products that don't typically carry cute connotations.
Haggis, the national dish of Scotland that is butt of many jokes, is made in a sheep's stomach filled with spiced and diced innards. Moo deng is a type of meatball that means "bouncy pork" in Thai.
Moo Deng, a pudgy, pink-cheeked pygmy hippo, quickly became a social media star about two months after being born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in July. Videos of her went viral and she was the source of endless memes.
