Moo Deng has become a viral internet sensation. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) (Photo by ... [ ] LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Move over, cats. A new cute creature has taken over the internet. Baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng is everywhere. Videos. Photos. Makeup tutorials. Memes. Saturday Night Live. The damp, gray roly-poly creature is a bonafide celebrity. She’s the latest in a series of adorable creatures that have achieved internet star status. Where does this urge to glorify cute animals come from? Scientists are studying the phenomenon and how it reveals deeper truths about human nature.

Moo Deng makes a compelling case for cute-animal worship. Her name translates to “bouncy pork.” She’s sassy. She runs around her enclosure at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand and bites her keepers’ legs. Thousands of people per day flock to see her in person. The zoo pumps out Moo Deng content on social media to satisfy her adoring fans. There’s a 24-hour livestream where viewers chat about buying Moo Deng T-shirts and how she likes to snooze with her mom in a pond. It’s easy to get swept up in the fun.

Moo Deng shares features with human infants. (Photo by Carola Frentzen/picture alliance via Getty ... [ ] Images)

Humans may be flipping for Moo Deng because of a basic part of our nature: our drive to care for infants. Research professor Daniel Kruger with the University of Michigan and........

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