Everyone loves Moo Deng, but it’s rare that someone crosses oceans for it – twice.
Molly Swindall fell in love with the baby pygmy hippo at the start of her internet fame – and made multiple trips around the world this month just to see it.
“I’m absolutely in love with that shiny, moist potato,” Swindall, 30, told The Post.
“She’s fun and light-hearted,” the New Yorker said of Moo Deng, who has a penchant for biting zookeepers and engaging in “moonwalks.”
“She’s adorable, has a strong personality and is an absolute joy to watch.”
Swindall revealed that she traveled a total of 21 hours on her first trip in October. 2 – 18 1/2 hours from that flight – and not much time off work. But she kept her trip short: just 30 hours in Thailand, which she says cost her about $1,100.
“Moo Deng is a bright spot during a time where there are many unknowns,” Swindall said. “People always need joy in their lives, and she is bringing that joy to people.”
Moo Deng became an overnight viral sensation when her keepers at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, where she was born, started posting clips of the hippo’s funny moments.
The baby hippo has since been the center of many memes and was even the subject of a recent scene on “Saturday Night Live.”
But it wasn’t enough for Swindall to see Moo Deng online — she had to see him in person.
“I just love animals and adventure, and that’s how I set out to go,” Swindall told CNN. “My dad passed away unexpectedly six years ago, and at that point, I was just, ‘You know what? I will always live my life to the fullest. I will always have a sense of adventure.’
“And that’s why I decided to do what I did,” she said of her long journey to see the little beast.
Her only destination was the home of Moo Deng’s zoo, and she shared a laugh with the customs agents when told she was only there to see the adorable animal.
She chronicled her travels on her TikTok account, @1989vinyl, where she has 158,400 followers and 38.9 million likes.
And she can now reveal that her experience paid off.
“I was able to see an icon. It was unbelievable to see her obnoxious and annoying actions in person,” Swindall told The Post. “[Moo Deng] it’s hysterical to watch and has so much personality.”
On this first trip, Swindall said there was no time limit on seeing the skinny pygmy, so she spent about four hours in her enclosure and stood on the barricade to get a closer look.
While Moo Deng may have been the star of the show and the only reason Swindall traveled all this way, she also loved seeing the baby hippo interacting with its mother, Jona.
“Whenever Jona was too far away, Moo would run after her as fast as he could just to be near her,” she recalls.
The animal lover didn’t just get to see Moo Deng, whose name means “jumping pig” — she also made a trip to Melbourne, Australia, less than two weeks later to witness the “wobbly little king” Pesto, a heart-stealing baby penguin and another recent, viral internet sensation.
And after seeing Pesto in October. 11, she even traveled back to Bangkok the next day for a second trip because she “missed Moo Deng so much.”
“I knew I wanted to see both Moo Deng and Pesto ASAP, as they were both growing,” Swindall told The Post.
The second time Swindall saw Moo Deng, there was a long line to see the beloved hippo.
Swindall took a seat and waited about 45 minutes to see her.
However, Moo Deng’s zookeeper, Benz, knew about her long-distance journey and helped her face the cute hippo more.
“He asked someone if I was the girl traveling there. When I said yes, they let me come back for three to four cycles,” Swindall explained. “Then Benz put my phone in lockup and took pictures and an adorable video.
“I’m so glad I was able to see it twice now.”
The viral animal-seeing trips cost Swindall several thousand dollars, she found, but she felt lucky to have airline tickets she could use to offset some of the cost.
Swindall spent 20 hours traveling to visit Pesto, and for her second trip to Thailand, she was already across the globe, so she only traveled 9 1/2 hours.
In all, however, she spent 50 and a half hours traveling to see the distant, familiar couple.
Plus, she had time to explore Bangkok on her second trip, which was a highlight of her “magical” and “surreal” experience.
“The only thing I would change is to be able to stay longer,” she told The Post wistfully of her “emotional” adventure.
“It was really sad to leave, especially since I realized that the next time I see Moo Deng, she will likely be fully grown.”
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Image Source : nypost.com