‘Moo Deng’, the pygmy hippo at Khao Kheow open zoo in Chon Buri, has been chosen as one of the 63 most stylish “people” of 2024 by The New York Times (NYT), writing “She bit. She screamed. She conquered hearts the world over.”
Anthony Rotunno, NYT’s fashion news editor wrote:
Style manifested in many forms over the last 12 months, as well as in many places: on the campaign trail and red carpets, at stadiums and zoos. The 63 names on this list, which are arranged in no particular order, emerged as those that may come to mind when asked to picture 2024.
Of course, style is subjective – not to mention a subject of heated discussion, which is partly why this group of people, characters and things made the list this year. Each made us look, think and talk about the clothes we wear, the ways we live or the approaches we take to personal style and self-expression.
Other names in the list include New York Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant, South Korean Olympics sharpshooter Kim Yeji who went to the Olympics with a stuffed elephant and eyewear from “Mad Max”, actor Daniel Craig of the James Bond franchise, singers Beyoncé and Adele.
Narongwit Chodchoi, director of Khao Kheow open zoo, said he would like to thank “Nong Benz”, a zookeeper taking care of Moo Deng, who was instrumental for creating the worldwide sensation.
He said that visitors to the zoo have increased to about 12,000 a day, from an average of 3,000 before the appearance of Moo Deng.
In October alone, about 300,000 people visited, he said, adding that food shops, hotels and other tourist attractions have also benefited from Moo Deng fever.
Narongwit disclosed that the Khao Kheow zoo has received more than 100 commercial applications from companies wanting to use Moo Deng for product branding, adding that 70 deals have been approved, including 60 Thai products, earning the zoo about 150 million baht in additional revenue.
