In recent months, across social media, there have been whispers of a holy trinity of sorts. Three viral animals to rule them all: Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, Pesto the penguin, and Biscuits the seal (or Hua Hua the onigiri-shaped giant panda, depending on who you ask). It’s easy to see the appeal – one is a round, screaming hippopotamus who lives in a zoo in Thailand, whose name translates to “bouncy pork.” Another is a “chonky king” penguin in Melbourne, Australia, who already weighs more than both his parents combined. The internet clearly has a soft spot for chubby baby animals, but, as with all viral sensations, the question becomes, how far are people actually willing to go to experience the cuteness in real life? Apparently, the answer is halfway across the other side of the world.

Self-confessed “animal enthusiast” and TikTok creator Molly has already marked two holy trinity viral animals off her list. At the start of October, she flew over 18 hours from the US to Thailand to visit Moo Deng, staying in the country for only two days. Then, ten days later, she flew over 20 hours just to visit Pesto the Penguin in Australia, before “popping back” to Thailand to see Moo Deng again. Each time, she spent hours watching the animals (and taking videos for her TikTok, of course). “For me, it was all worth it,” she says. “There’s a little seal in Vancouver right now [Biscuits] and a panda who is smaller than other pandas [Hua Hua] in Chengu, so there are a lot of adorable animals I’d love to mark off my baby animal bucket list.” With other travellers booking flights and waiting for hours for just five minutes in the presence of one of the most popular animals of the moment, are viral animal trips a growing part of today’s tourism industry?

Liv Wilson, “Pesto’s PA” and a PR manager at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, says the aquarium has always announced the hatching of a chick, but Pesto’s reveal was different. “We didn’t know how big Pesto was going to be when he hatched,” she says. “Then we did his gender reveal, and everyone was enamoured by his cuteness.” Since then, their website has experienced three times more traffic, their Pesto merch has been “flying out”, and international visitors have come purely to see Pesto. “We’ve had people visiting who probably had no plans whatsoever to come to Melbourne, and we’ve had to turn things around quickly and accommodate more guests due to his fame,” she says. “But the really important thing is for people to know that King penguins aren’t only incredibly beautiful, but they’re a vital indicator of the health of our oceans.” 

Wilson has a hunch that Pesto’s international visitors are travellers looking for “unique” vacations, and Mel Fish, a spokesperson for Expedia Brands, says TikTok and Instagram are continuing to drive travel inspiration across the board. “Travel to experience the latest and trending attractions isn’t new, but undoubtedly, viral animals such as Pesto the penguin in Melbourne are creating huge engagement on social media,” she says. “In the UK, we saw that year-on-year searches for Melbourne, the home of Pesto the penguin, increased as much as 65 per cent after Pesto went viral, showing that travellers are more likely to jump online to start booking their flights.” And Molly thinks politics could be at play. “Through this political season in the US, people are looking for positive and fun things to do,” she says. “These animals are happy, cute, and fun. You can’t be sad while looking at them.”

Through this political season in the US, people are looking for positive and fun things to do. These animals are happy, cute, and fun. You can’t be sad while looking at them.

Even if you simply want to escape reality by disassociating while watching Moo Deng, there’s no skirting around the fact that paying thousands of dollars to see a viral animal comes with a strong likelihood of gaining internet clout. It’s all a matter of association: if the internet loves Moo Deng, and you have a first-hand video of her, then you have social currency. But planning your trip solely around a video opportunity isn’t necessarily practising what Fish calls “mindful” travel. “Wherever possible, we should be thoughtful when planning our trips around a particular destination or attraction, because the more time we can give to exploring the surrounding areas, the more we can support the local tourism and economy whilst there,” she says. “We would also encourage travellers to educate themselves about the wildlife facilities that look after animals before booking any trips to see viral animals.”

With a zoo already being accused of putting their animals through “fat camp” to deliver the next viral sensation and keeping in mind the history of wildlife tourism is filled with examples of people maximising profits by exploiting animals, zoologist and conservationist Hassan Bayyan says we need there’s a fine line between education and exploitation for clicks, likes and views. “One thing that happens when an animal goes viral is that there’s an increased awareness about the animal,” he says. “Hopefully, Moo Deng and Pesto are bringing a lot of education because both species need some help.” According to Bayyan, those passionate about the viral animals should also channel their passions into protecting that species in the wild and conserving where they come from.

Unfortunately for Moo Deng and Pesto, being internet famous doesn’t ensure your species’ survival. Biologist Sophie Fern, who has studied the potential link between how charismatic an organism is and our willingness to conserve it, says the charisma of a species doesn’t always ensure true interest (and government budgets) for its protection. “It’s complicated and not a one-to-one relationship,” she says. “And I’m not going to be a complete purist about this, but flying across the world to see a species that’s affected by climate change is ironic.” Without the obvious contextualisation of their species and conservation status online, Fern fears these viral animals have almost become “little people”. To some, they’ve even become akin to religious monuments or historical figures. “As soon as I met Moo Deng, I knew I had to see Pesto as soon as possible,” says Molly. “My goal is to meet all the knights at the baton table, eventually.”