A New Orleans influencer meets Moo Deng in Thailand | News

From the food to the beaches to the history, Thailand has so much to see and try. 

The talk of Thailand since last year has been Moo Deng, the toddler pygmy hippopotamus who became an internet celebrity. 

Popular New Orleans-based influencer and meteorologist Scot Pilié got the chance to see Moo Deng in all her squishy glory while on a trip to Thailand. 

Pilié posted an Instagram video of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the zoo where Moo Deng lives, in collaboration with Nola.com. 

As Pilié’s video shows, the zoo definitely knows Moo Deng is a star with displays and benches dedicated to her. 

Pilié said the trip to the zoo made him become “obsessed” with hippos, saying all of them were active and playful, with some weighing 7,000 to 9,000 pounds. 

While Moo Deng got famous for videos of her playing with keepers and chasing water from a hose, Pilié caught her while she was getting her beauty sleep. 

Last year, Moo Deng was known for her bounciness, her name translating to “bouncy pork” in Thai. A few months older, Moo Deng is a little more sedate but still draws huge crowds to the zoo, The New York Times reports. 

In addition to seeing a celebrity in the flesh, Pilié said he loved that the zoo did not have traditional pens for the animals and gave them more free range. 

“It’s so opening and so welcoming for all the animals,” Pilié said.

 He also saw a capybara that he said resembled a larger version of Louisiana’s own nutria.