From Pesto the penguin to Moo Deng the hippo: The animal stars taking over TikTok in 2024
WE all love animals and TikTok proves it, with videos of the little creaures exploding in popularity.
Baby hippo Moo Deng and the massive penguin chick Pesto are just two examples of animals rocketing to fame on the platforms.
But these two animals are just a few examples of famous animals on TikTok.
Here are five of the most famous animals to become famous online.
Pesto the Penguin
Pesto the Penguin is 51.8lb chick that already towers over its parents.
For reference, an adult is usually 31-37lbs.
The penguin, that lives in Sea Life Melbourne’s aquarium, is only nine months old and has the fluffy brown fur of a chick.
He even had a gender reveal party as humans can’t differentiate chicks just by looking at them; a blood test is usually needed.
Fans fell in love with Pesto’s ravenous appetite, which sees the King Penguin eat 25 fish a day.
Videos of Pesto regularly receive tens-of-thousands of views and some have said that his fame may even rival Moo Deng’s.
Experts commented on his saying that they expect him to begin to lose his brown fluff soon, as he becomes sleek and streamlined like an adult.
They also think that Pesto will soon drop to a normal, healthy weight.
Moo Deng
Moo Deng is a baby pygmy hippo whose toothless grin, tiny frame and manic antics caused her to go viral online.
One video of the hippo trying to bite the water that is being used to wash her.
Moo Deng, whose name translates to “bouncy pork”, lives in a zoo in Thailand.
The zoo where she lives has seen its number of visitors double as fans flock there to see Moo Deng in person.
She is known for racing around her enclosure and leaping into the air, as well as biting the leg of her caretakers.
Charlotte the Stingray
Nature can be strange, but few things are stranger than a stingray experiencing an immaculate conception.
Charlotte was swimming peacefully when her caretakers realised that she had become pregnant despite being in a male-stingray-free tank.
Most scientists have speculated that this is because of a process called “parthenogenesis”, which is when an organism impregnates itself.
However, TikTok had already given Charlotte nicknames including “Stingray Jesus” and “Virgin Mary”.
A video about Charlotte even reached 11 million views.
Fans have connected to Charlotte’s do-it-yourself story and some people have even had tattoos of the stingray.
The stingray sadly passed away on July 1, 2024, from a “reproductive disease”.
Dunkin Ducks
The Dunkin Ducks are a group of ducks that are part of The Quack House TikTok account.
Their website describes The Quack House as a place where “the vibes are chill, the jokes are quacky, and the ducks… well, they’re always ducking around”.
They have over five million followers on the social media and enjoy a life of luxury.
Merch based on the ducks includes duck nightlights, bucket hats and bath ducks.
Peanut the Squirrel
Peanut is a squirrel that has been involved with everything from workout videos to NFTs.
The squirrel, which has nearly one million followers on the social media site, can open packages by itself, climb onto its owner and open cashew milk cartons.
Peanut, who promotes NFTs based on squirrels, was adopted by his owner when his mother was hit by a car.
He was taken in by Mark, who intended to raise him and then release him.
However, Peanut wasn’t ready to leave and decided to stay with his new owner.