The dedication is real! 🦌
Fans of a Korean pop star raised an impressive amount od doe to name a baby deer at the Los Angeles Zoo this week. The zoo’s new baby pudu was named Haechan, after the doe-eyed singer of K-pop group NCT and it’s two subgroups, NCT 127 and NCT Dream.
A male southern pudu was born at the #LAZoo on December 19, 2018 to first-time parents Steph and Mario. As a member of The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, we participate in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the southern pudu, whose population is declining in the wild. pic.twitter.com/w18NAhBHFk
— Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (@LAZoo) January 8, 2019
The zoo usually allows donors to name the animals that are born there. After tweeting about the newborn, a flood of fans kept commenting on how they thought that the deer looked like the 18-year-old singer. The zoo responded saying that if they were able to raise $2,000 dollars in five days for conservation work, they would name the pudu Haechan; supporters managed to raise all of the money within 3 hours of the post.
It's come to our attention that Haechan of the K-pop group @NCTsmtown is considered by many of his fans to resemble an adorable pudu. So we want to give fans the opportunity to officially name the newborn fawn after the singer! https://t.co/s00mYUwdvb pic.twitter.com/zRvo8UMHsa
— Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (@LAZoo) January 10, 2019
Haechan was born on December 19 but made his media debut on Thursday. The pudu deer is the smallest deer in the world and is in grave danger of extinction so the infant’s birth was celebrated across the globe. Seeing as how much buzz he made in less than 24 hours, one can only imagine that he’ll have an outpour of devotees paying him a visit!