Chinese giant panda ‘Hehua’
1 He Hua (left) and Meng Lan goods dolls
2 Heohwa (first on the right) is smaller than other pandas.
3 4 Heohwa
5. He He also received a letter of appointment as honorary director of the Chengdu City Culture and Tourism Bureau.
’Heohwa’ is the biggest star, ranking first in panda popularity even in China, the home country of pandas. It even graced the cover of the Chinese lifestyle magazine ‘LOHAS’, with popular Korean actors such as Song Seung-heon appearing on the cover. Heohwa is better known by the nickname ‘Hwahwa‘, and because he has a developmental disability, he is smaller than other pandas and has a cute appearance. Although they are a little shorter than pandas of the same age, they are plump and almost like a circle, which is the height of cuteness. Just looking at the Heohwa Goods doll, it looks noticeably fuller and plumper than other popular panda ‘Meng Lan’ dolls in China. But surprisingly, the core reason why Heo Hwa is loved is not her appearance. Heo Hwa has a charm that keeps getting on my mind for some reason. Because of their slow jaw growth, when other pandas chew bamboo when they are young, they eat the ground bamboo separately, and because their bodies are small, they are not good at climbing trees. This somehow triggers a protective instinct to want to take care of them. In fact, his twin brother Heo Ye climbed a tree at 5 months old, but it took Heo Hwa 1 year and 6 months. In addition, their gentle behavior, such as giving food to them rather than rebelling when their food is taken away by another panda or collapsing when the panda next to them pushes them, also stimulates maternal love. Heo Hwa, who turned 4 years old this year, has become much healthier and has grown significantly, but he is still full of affection from the Chinese as a ‘sore finger’.
Japanese lowland gorilla ‘Shabani‘
In the cartoon ‘Slam Dunk’, Buksan High School captain Chae Chi-su’s nickname is ‘Gorilla’. Although it is a derogatory term meant to belittle one’s appearance, the fact is that there are gorillas that are more handsome than most people. The main character is Shabani, a lowland gorilla living at Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan. Shabani, 27 years old, is also the main character who heated up the Internet about 10 years ago with her resemblance to movie star ‘George Clooney.’ The image of him resting his chin with his eyes filled with wonder went viral online, earning him the nickname ‘Ikemen (handsome man).’ BBC in the UK and CNN in the US highlighted Shabani by calling him “the most handsome gorilla in the world.” At that time, the number of young female visitors to the zoo nearly doubled compared to before, and a group admiring Shabani even formed among Japanese women. In 2015, Shabani’s photobook was also published, ranking first in the photo book rankings, and an arm pillow cushion that reproduced Shabani’s massive arm muscles was also released. The original star of Higashiyama Zoo was a koala, but after Shabani became a hot topic online, it is said that Shabani took over everything from the main photo on the website to the cover model of the guidebook.
Shabani cushion that creates an arm pillow
Thai pygmy hippopotamus ‘Mudeng’
Last June, a female pygmy hippopotamus was born at the Khao Ki Fox Open Zoo near Pattaya, Thailand. The name of the baby hippopotamus, which is bouncy and chubby like jelly, is ‘Mudeng’. Befitting the meaning of its name, ‘bouncing pig’, it roams the zoo in a lively manner throughout. As they are the offspring of the pygmy hippopotamus, also called the ‘little hippopotamus’ as the adult body length is less than 1.8m, their small body that can barely fit into a rubber basin is the killing point. Unlike the solemn mother hippopotamus, the sight of it jumping around on short legs captured the hearts of the Thai people. As more than 12,000 people flocked to see Mudeng even before opening, the zoo limited the viewing time of Mudeng to 5 minutes per person. The zoo registered Mudin’s trademark and patent rights and produced shirts and pants with Mudin’s face drawn on them. We also plan to release goods such as stamps. Thailand’s Sephora also curated color cosmetics that can create lovely pink cheeks like Mudin through SNS. The American weekly current affairs magazine ‘Time’ also covered Mudeng with the title “He is an icon and a legend,” drawing the attention of people beyond Thailand and around the world.
You can see Mudin’s daily life on the zoo’s Instagram, and my favorite moment is the sight of him opening his small mouth as hard as he can and roaring like a wild beast(?).
Thailand’s Sephora has curated a blusher that can look like Mudin’s cheeks.
Australian King Penguin ‘Pesto’
Pesto goods (left). When king penguins are chicks, their fur is brown, but when they become adults, their fur changes to black and white.
A somewhat indifferent and sullen expression, a size so big that you can’t hug it all in one embrace, fluffy brown fur surrounding its chubby body, and even a pose with its chest proudly stretched out as if saying, “Hug me.” Recently, in Australia, baby king penguin ‘Pesto’ has been receiving national love. Pesto, born last January, is the first king penguin to hatch at Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia, since 2022. The attractive point is the fluffy brown down that surrounds the entire body. Pesto is so appetizing that it can eat 24kg of fish in a week, and currently weighs a whopping 21kg, which is similar to the combined weight of its two penguin parents. On the Sea Life Aquarium’s website, there is a separate introduction section that explains ‘Why Pesto is so big’. According to the explanation, many genetic factors played a role, as Pesto’s biological father, Blake, was the largest penguin in the aquarium. In addition, the cute reason that it is thanks to the love of his penguin parents who raised him with care also plays a role. Anyway, he is just so cute because he is so big. Unfortunately, as Pesto grows into an adult and loses its fur, its weight is expected to drop by up to 15kg. To preserve Pesto’s cuteness as a baby, Sea Life Aquarium sells goods such as dolls and T-shirts that look exactly like Pesto.
chinese leopard
Officer Clawhauser from the Disney animation ‘Zootopia’ has become a reality. The main character is a leopard living at the Panzhihua Park Zoo in Sichuan Province, southwestern China. Unlike the sleek image that often comes to mind when thinking of a leopard, it has a plump body and a somewhat relaxed vibe. The so-called ‘Fat Leopard’, which looks more like a cute cat than a wild animal, has become a hot topic on social media with people saying it looks like a big cat. However, as more and more people became concerned that there might be something wrong with their health, the zoo started putting the leopard on a diet to ensure its health. Not only did they reduce the amount of food fed, but instead of giving the food directly, they placed it somewhere high or far away so that the leopard could jump or run to eat it. Unfortunately, despite two months of rigorous training, I did not lose any weight. The explanation is that the Panzhihua Park Zoo itself is old and the space is small, so there are limits to increasing the amount of exercise. Moreover, the leopard in question is 16 years old this year, making it in its 70s in human years. It is said that the zoo has given up on weight loss efforts due to concerns that the drastic change in breeding methods could harm their health.
Officer Clawhauser in ‘Zootopia’
#Women’s Donga
Photo source Each zoo’s website and Instagram Disney
