Baby pudu named for Korean pop star Haechan debuts at LA Zoo
- US fans of singer raised US$2,000 for naming rights
- The baby deer made its debut for the news media on Thursday
Fans of a Korean pop star have raised more than US$2,000 to name a baby deer at the Los Angeles Zoo after their favourite doe-eyed singer.
The zoo’s new baby pudu was named Haechan after a member of K-pop group NCT and its two subgroups, NCT 127 and NCT Dream.
The southern pudu made its news media debut on Thursday, though he has previously been on public display after he was born December 19.
Donors typically name animals born at the zoo. But after tweeting about the newborn pudu, the zoo realised Haechan’s fans had long thought the 18-year-old looked like the tiny deer that is native to South America.
“It was immediate,” said Katherine Spada, the zoo’s social media manager. “People started saying, ‘You’ve got to name the pudu Haechan. He looks just like Haechan.’”
