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Thailand's Baby Pygmy Hippo Now Has an Official Song in 4 Languages

FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
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Thailand's Baby Pygmy Hippo Now Has an Official Song in 4 Languages

FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
FILE -Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, , Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

In case you can’t get enough of the little pygmy hippo Moo Deng from Thailand, there's now an official song featuring the internet's favorite baby animal — released in four languages for her global fans.
The upbeat 50-second song “Moodeng Moodeng," available in Thai, English, Chinese and Japanese versions, features simple lyrics like “Moo Deng Moo Deng, boing boing boing/ Mommy mommy, play with me.” Its music video consists of short clips of the baby hippo bouncing, playing with her keeper or hanging out with her mom Jona, The Associated Press reported.
The catchy number was produced and written by well-known Thai composer Mueanphet Ammara, and released by one of Thailand's largest music companies, GMM Music.
Moo Deng — the name literally means “bouncy pork,” a type of meatball, in Thai — became a global phenomenon just a month after she was unveiled on Facebook by the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand’s southern Chon Buri province.
Fans say her name compliments her chaotic personality. Moo Deng likes to “deng,” or bounce, and her giddy bouncing has appeared all over social media in countless memes. Her image has been used by sports teams and businesses.
The hippo, now 4 months old, has drawn a huge amount of visitors to the zoo, which is around two-hour drive away from the capital Bangkok. The zoo estimated it has received 3,000 to 5,000 visitors a day on average in the past few months, and it's selling clothes, bedding and other merchandise based on Moo Deng.
Zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi has said the increasing income from Moo Deng will help its breeding programs for many endangered species like the pygmy hippopotamus, which is threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. The species is native to West Africa and there are only 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild.
The zoo sits on 800 hectares (almost 2,000 acres) of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals.
All four versions of the Moo Deng song are available on YouTube and streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.

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'A Perfect Mission': Artemis II Astronauts Return to Earth

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
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'A Perfect Mission': Artemis II Astronauts Return to Earth

In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby, Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)

An elated NASA late Friday was celebrating its successful voyage around the Moon, after four astronauts safely returned to Earth having completed the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts -- three Americans and one Canadian -- splashed down without a hitch off the California coast, capping the US space agency's crewed test mission that returned with spectacular images of the Moon, said AFP.

"What a journey," said mission commander Reid Wiseman, who reported that the crewmembers -- himself along with Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen -- were "stable" and "green."

"They're in great condition, that's what that means," said Rob Navias, the NASA public affairs official who narrated their return on the agency's livestream.

Following an expected but nerve-wracking communications blackout during their high-stakes re-entry, Wiseman's voice triggered relief that the astronauts were well on their way back home.

"We have you loud and clear," he said following a voice check from mission control in Houston.

NASA personnel and the US military helped extract the astronauts from the bobbing capsule -- to the applause of those watching from mission control.

By late Friday, helicopters had lifted the astronauts to a recovery ship off the Pacific coast near San Diego, where they all proved capable of walking unassisted.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman called the voyage "a perfect mission."

"We're back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon," he said, and "this is just the beginning."

- 'A great day' -

As the astronauts returned to Earth their spacecraft reached maximum speeds more than 30 times the speed of sound, and faced searing temperatures around half as hot as the surface of the Sun.

It was a key test of their heat shield, which in an earlier trial uncrewed mission had faced complications that they attempted to mitigate this time around by shifting the return trajectory.

"If you didn't have anxiety bringing this spacecraft home, you probably didn't have a pulse," said flight director Rick Henfling.

But the Artemis II re-entry was smooth sailing.

The Orion capsule will now be painstakingly examined to assess how it fared.

US President Donald Trump praised the astronauts for their "spectacular" trip and said he "could not be more proud" -- while wasting no time in looking ahead to the eventual goal of sending missions even further into space.

"Next step, Mars!" he wrote on social media.

Artemis II was the inaugural crewed mission of NASA's program aiming to install a sustained presence on the Moon, including the eventual construction of a base that could be used for further exploration including to Mars.

- 'Fresh confidence' -

From liftoff to splashdown, the trip clocked in at nine days, one hour, 31 minutes and 35 seconds -- though NASA rounds up and calls it a 10-day mission.

It began with a dramatic launch from Florida on April 1, and was studded with firsts, records and extraordinary moments.

The four astronauts become the humans to travel furthest away from the Earth, at 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers).

While hurtling through deep space and zipping around the Moon they took thousands of photographs, amassing a stunning portfolio of images that captivated people on Earth.

They also witnessed a solar eclipse along with extraordinary meteorite strikes on the lunar surface.

Several achievements added to the voyage's historic nature: Glover was the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Koch was the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.

Astronomer Derek Buzasi of the University of Chicago called the mission "an almost flawless success."

"I admit to having had my doubts about the Artemis program, but now I have fresh confidence in our next steps as we go back to the Moon to stay," he told AFP.

- 'Eye on the prize' -

NASA is hoping it can put boots on the lunar surface as soon as 2028 -- the final full year of Trump's second White House term.

Experts, however, have voiced skepticism that the lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, companies owned by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos respectively, will be ready in time.

China, meanwhile, is forging ahead with its own effort targeting 2030 to put astronauts on the Moon.

In the meantime, NASA is hoping to capitalize on the Artemis II mission's success to drum up excitement about space exploration.

Clayton Swope, a space policy expert at of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP that the mission stands as "proof that when America keeps its eye on the prize, it can still do very great things."

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Sleepy Seal Diverts Traffic in Australian Seaside Town

This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
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Sleepy Seal Diverts Traffic in Australian Seaside Town

This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)

Traffic in a seaside Australian town was briefly diverted on Friday when a local seal decided to take a nap on the road.

The dozy pinniped was spotted snoozing on a road in Dromana in the southern state of Victoria.

Local police placed cones around the seal -- known to some locals as Sammy -- who could be seen sunning himself with little concern for the traffic.

"You don't know where he will pop up next," local Laura Ellen, who spotted the slumbering animal, told AFP.

"He usually sleeps all day," she said.

"It made me laugh when I saw him on the road. Haven't seen him do that before."

The seal was later redirected back to the beach by wildlife rescuers and the lane was re-opened.

Seals are a common sight along Victoria's coast and it is illegal to touch or feed them, the state government says.

Varieties

Saudi Ministry of Interior, Red Sea Global Sign MoU

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
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Saudi Ministry of Interior, Red Sea Global Sign MoU

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh.

The agreement was signed by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Security Capabilities Abdullah Al-Kathiri and Chief Executive Officer of Red Sea Global John Pagano, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The agreement aims to promote integration between the two sides in strengthening public safety requirements and standards.