Moo Deng: the celebrated hippo’s real home has disappeared – will the world restore it?

By Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng, College Lecturer at Worcester College, and Postdoctoral Researcher at School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford
Sulemana Bawa, PhD Candidate in Conservation Biology, University of Oxford

The playful and pudgy mammal that went viral from its Thai zoo enclosure has a sad story to tell about her fellows hippos.

Moo Deng is the two-month-old pygmy hippo who flicks her ears in joy and likes splashing in water. She lives the life of a superstar at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, where huge crowds have massed – but the chances of spotting her relatives in the wild are slim.

Pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis) are endangered and estimated…

Read complete article

~	At least 68 journalist killings in 2024, UNESCO reports

~	Santa, maybe? Why we have different names for who ‘hurries down the chimney’ on Christmas

~	This holiday season, ‘Don’t Call Me Resilient’ brings you a booklist with your playlist

~	Been drinking and your heart’s fluttering? You may have ‘holiday heart’

~	What Assad’s fall means for the Middle East – and Russia

~	From ‘ghost guns’ to gangs, 5 lessons from Canada for NZ firearms reform

~	Are tobacco and cannabis economic substitutes or complements? New research suggests it changes with age

~	Many people don’t get financial advice even though it can help ensure a comfortable retirement

~	Decorating your Christmas tree? Try these crafts inspired by Aussie plants and animals

~	Will we have a COVID wave, spike or blip this Christmas? It depends where you live