See Moo Deng, the Baby Hippo Stealing Hearts Everywhere!
For anyone who gleefully sang that they wanted a hippopotamus for Christmas, only a hippopotamus will do, a Virginia zoo has heeded your call.
Five months after the Internet was gifted with Moo Deng , the delightfully bouncy, music video-dropping Thailand-based sensation , Metro Richmond Zoo announced on Christmas Eve that pygmy hippos Iris and Corwin welcomed their third baby girl Dec. 9 after a seven-month gestation.
The new arrival comes just over two years after the pair's second calf was born .
"Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all," the zoo announced in their press release, referencing Gayla Peevey 's popular 1985 holiday hit, "so we feel lucky to have received two over the years."
Much like another famed holiday arrival, the birth was considered fairly miraculous as it was the first time Iris labored in an indoor pool.
At 4:50 p.m., with several zookeepers and even "a few zoo guests" on hand, the unnamed calf made her arrival. "The baby’s natural instincts kicked in," shared the zoo, "and she started moving around in the water immediately."
It will likely still be awhile before the baby pygmy is showing up Moo Deng , as she and her mom "were shifted into a cozy, hay-bedded enclosure off-exhibit," the zoo shared. "This gives mom and baby privacy while they bond."
Eventually, the zoo continued in their release, "they will move back to the indoor pool area so guests can see the baby." But, until then, it seems likely that the mom of three is quite the mama bear hippo. Noted the zoo, "Iris is an experienced mother and very protective of her calf."
Weighed at five days old, the hippo clocked in at 15 pounds, though she could grow up to 600. And, per the zoo, she's "nursing and growing quickly."
Most importantly, the zoo noted in their release, the animal (which can live up to 55 years old) can help preserved the endangered pygmy hippo species, which is native to the swamps and rivers of West Africa.
"Less than 2,500 mature individuals remain in the wild," the zoo shared. "This birth—like all of Iris’ births—plays an important role in helping protect this rare and elusive species."
Another fun fact, the zoo shared, is that unlike common hippos, "pygmy hippos do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs." Which means that "once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species."
No word yet on when they'll be dropping their first single .
Of course, Moo Deng's debut as a musician is only one event that made 2024 not very demure or mindful, but a whole lot of fun. Keep reading to relive the year's biggest moments.
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Ring in 2024 With a Kiss
Anderson Cooper Gets the Giggles
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Selena Gomez Gives Taylor Swift the Tea
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association; Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images
Chelsea Handler Roasts Her Ex
Jan. 14: Chelsea Handler got the last laugh after her ex Jo Koy bombed as host of the Golden Globes . When she helmed the stage at the Critics Choice Awards a week later, she took a swipe at his claim that his monologue jokes fell flat because "some I wrote, some other people wrote."
Following her quip that she preferred her men "old and hot" and would like to toss Martin Scorsese around "like a little Italian meatball," Handler said, "Thank you for laughing at that, my writers wrote it."
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Elle King Hits the Wrong Note
Jan 21: Singing in a tribute show for Dolly Parton 's 78th birthday at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, Elle King forgot the words to the icon's "Marry Me" then told the crowd, "Y'all bought tickets for this s--t? You ain't getting your money back."
She then added, "I'll tell you one thing more. Hi, my name is Elle King. I'm f--king hammered." Entering a "therapeutic program" after, she also apologized to Parton , who accepted her service and devotion. "Elle is really a great artist, she's a great girl," Parton told ExtraTV . "She's been going through a lot of things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink."
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Miley Cyrus Snubs Her Dad
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King Charles III Shares His Cancer Diagnosis
Feb. 5: Though Buckingham Palace announced King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer while undergoing a "hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement," he continued to keep calm and carry on engagements through the rest of the year.
Taylor's Boyfriend Wins the Super Bowl
Feb. 11: You heard the rumors from Inez. You can't believe a word she says (most times), but this time it was true: Swift really did hop a flight to Las Vegas after performing in Toyko Feb. 10 and shook off any jet lag to cheer her tight end boyfriend Kelce on to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory alongside Patrick Mahomes .
Amy Schumer Faces Her Critics
Feb. 15: With Internet trolls remarking on a change in Amy Schumer 's look, she faced the speculation head-on . "I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years," the actress shared in an Instagram post . "And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis, an auto immune disease that every woman should read about. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay."
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Stephen Baldwin Calls Out Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber
Feb. 26: Is it too late for Stephen Baldwin to say sorry? Because Hailey Bieber 's dad caused quite the hysteria when he shared an Instagram reel originally posted by All Things Possible Ministry founder Victor Marx . "Christians, please when you think of Justin & Hailey, take a moment to offer a little prayer for them to have wisdom, protection and to draw close to the Lord," Marx wrote over a video of Justin Bieber playing the guitar. "There are special challenges that folks in high visibility positions face."
With endless fans asking what did he mean, the couple didn't address speculation. But they did welcome son Jack six months later.
Kelly Osbourne Plays the Name Game
Feb. 28: What's in a name? A lot if you ask Kelly Osbourne . Speaking on The Osbournes Podcast , she revealed that she and boyfriend Sid Wilson had "the biggest fight" over now-2-year-old son Sidney 's last name. "Right now, my son doesn't have a double-barreled last name," she noted. "But, after lots of eye-opening conversations and some couples therapy, he has seen the light. We are going to legally change our son's name to have both of our last names."
Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
Joshua Jackson Makes Lupita Nyong’o His Beach Bae
Instagram / Garrison Brown
Sister Wives ’ Garrison Brown Dies By Suicide
March 5: After suffering an unimaginable loss, Sister Wives stars Janelle Brown and Kody Brown confirmed the death of their 25-year-old son Garrison Brown . "Kody and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown," Janelle shared on Instagram . "He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away."
Instagram/Brittany Mahomes
Brittany Mahomes Reveals a Major Injury
March 6: Weeks after cheering her husband on to his third Super Bowl victory, Brittany Mahomes revealed she was on the injured reserve list . "Just your daily reminder: Once you have kids please take care of your pelvic floor. Seriously," the former professional soccer player—now pregnant with her and the quarterback's third child—captioned an Instagram Story selfie . "From: A girl with a fractured back."
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Riley Strain Disappears
March 8: The case of Riley Strain —the 22-year-old University of Missouri student who vanished after a night of bar-hopping in Nashville—ended in tragedy . Two weeks after he was last spotted getting kicked out of Luke Bryan 's bar, Luke 32 Food + Drink his body was pulled out of the Cumberland River , roughly eight miles away from where he started out.
With Strain's family continuously pressing for answers and even ordering their own autopsy ("If he fell and truly fell in the water and you can prove that to me, show me," his stepdad Chris Whiteid said) they got them in June. An autopsy report obtained by TMZ attributed Strain's official cause of death to drowning and ethanol intoxication (also known as alcohol poisoning), with the manner cited as accidental.
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Vanessa Hudgens Makes a Statement
Meg Ryan Stuns at the Oscars
Drake Bell Comes Foward
JoJo Siwa Makes a $50,000 Confession
Kate Middleton Shares Cancer Diagnosis
March 22: Kate Middleton put an end to weeks of speculation about her decision to retreat from public eye following abdominal surgery in January by sharing a video message . With tests indicating there was cancer present in her body, she shared, "My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."
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Cameron Diaz Adds a Member to Her Flock
March 22: There's something about Cameron Diaz 's baby announcement . She and husband Benji Maddix revealed in an Instagram post that they'd given daughter Raddix a brother named Cardinal . "He is awesome and We are all so happy he is here!" the duo wrote in a joint message. And while they declined to share a photo, they noted the newest member of their nest was "really cute."
Authorities Raid Sean “Diddy” Combs’ House
March 25: In the months since federal investigators from Homeland Security raided Sean "Diddy" Combs ' homes in Los Angeles and Miami, the musician has been arrested , with federal prosecutors accusing him of "creating a criminal enterprise," in which he "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct." Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in jail as he awaits trial.
Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel Reveals Her Wedded Bliss
March 27: Sure, we were three years late to the party, but we still raised a glass to the news that conjoined twin Abby Hensel —star of TLC's Abby & Brittany —wed self-described "father, veteran, nurse" Josh Bowling in 2021. Her sister Brittany Hensel remains single.
"We are totally different people," Brittany explained in their 2007 documentary. "We usually bargain with each other like, ‘If you do this, I'll do that.' Or we take turns."
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O.J. Simpson Dies After Cancer Battle
Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt Works the Red Carpet
Baby Reindeer Gallops Into Pop Culture
April 11: When Scottish comedian Richard Gadd took to the stage to spill his personal horror story, he couldn't have predicted Baby Reindeer —the resulting based-on-a-true-story scripted series—would become Netflix's No. 1 show in the U.S. and U.K., launching a viral conversation about trauma, stalking , privacy and the perils of posing a mystery that Internet sleuths will feel compelled to solve.
"It's clearly struck a chord," Gadd told The Guardian after the premiere. "I really did believe in it, but it's taken off so quickly that I do feel a bit windswept."
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Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's Golden Marriage Withers
April 12: Every rose has its thorn. And Golden Bachelor duo Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist felt that painful prick just three months after their televised January vows .
The newlyweds largely blamed the distance between them in their initial split announcement , with Turner remaining in Indiana and Nist based in New Jersey despite plans to move to South Carolina. But Turner offered an alternate reason in December, telling People he opened up about his battle with bone marrow cancer Waldenström's macroglobulinemia because he felt it would "clear up a lot of mystery" about the end of his brief marriage.
"As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer," he explained, noting the news made him re-evaluate his life and want to spend more time near his daughters and granddaughters.
But Nist told the mag, her then-husband's diagnosis "wasn't a factor in the ending of the relationship, at least not for me."
"If that was something on his part, maybe, I don't know," she continued. "But no, that didn't factor into ending the relationship."
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Megan Fox Raises a Glass to Love Is Blind 's Chelsea Blackwell
April 13: Admittedly, Megan Fox was a bit blindsided by the hysteria that ensued when Love Is Blind 's Chelsea Blackwell said in the pods that people sometimes say she resembles the Transformers actress.
"I've never had more people text me about something," Fox exclusively told E! News ' The Rundown host Erin Lim Rhodes at the 2024 Revolve Festival. And though the actress wasn't a devoted viewer of the Netflix series, "I did see a picture of her," she added. "A hundred thousand percent, people have told her, 'You kind of look like Megan Fox.' So I believe she's telling the truth and I hope, like, she still has that sparkle in her eye. I hope the world didn't steal it from her."
Taylor Swift Drops The Tortured Poets Department
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Mark Consuelos Admits to Kissing Another Woman
April 30: Though Mark Consuelos and wife Kelly Ripa are known for their steamy confessions , fans were still floored when the actor decided to kiss a stranger and tell his wife about it on-air. While celebrating the championship victory of Italy's Campobasso 1919 soccer team, which the couple co-own, he shared what he called a "passionate" smooch with a random woman.
"We look at each other and we're so excited," he recalled on Live with Kelly and Mark , "and there's this glass and we come to the glass, and you know what? I kissed her." As for Ripa, she paid the moment little lip service, asking only, "Do we have footage?"