‘Terrifying’ Kirby the baby elephant tipped to be next Moo Deng

A baby elephant born at Houston Zoo in November has been tipped to become the "next Moo Deng", after videos of her unusual appearance went viral.

Kirby, who is one month old, is petite and has just a few wisps of hair, however, it's her bulging eyes that have drawn attention online.

The zoo has been posting clips of Kirby's growth stages, however, fans (also known as the Kirby Krew) can't help but be distracted by her eyes, which give the appearance of 'googly' eyes typically used as art supplies.

New videos of the elephant posted by the zoo have now had over four million views.

Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo

"BLINK KIRBY BLINK", one person wrote on a video posted by the zoo. Another joked: "I'm sorry but Kirby would have me running if I came across it in a dark alley".

A comment which received over 35,000 likes read: "Kirby simultaneously sees all possible timelines".

One poked fun by adding: "Kirby has seen things beyond human comprehension."

And the memes started flooding in...

People are already doing their best Kirby impressions

One fan is even ready to have her knighted

While others aren't convinced she'll take Moo Deng's crown

But fans needn't be concerned about Kirby's eyes, because the zoo have explained that it's actually totally normal for elephants of her kind - and she'll soon grow into them.

"Newborn elephants, like Kirby, are born with their eyes open," Rob Barnardy, elephant curator at the zoo, told Chron. "This is because an elephant calf needs to keep up with their herd quickly. It's also the reason why a healthy calf is usually able to stand and walk within a couple of hours of being born."

Kirby was born on 15 November to 34-year-old Asian elephant Shanti, and weighed 314 pounds from day one. The baby gave zoo keepers a surprise when she stood up just six minutes after being born, and could walk after less than half an hour.

Fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants are left in the world, so even if she's going viral for the wrong reasons, animal lovers are happy than awareness is being spread about the importance of protecting them.

Luckily, elephants typically live well into their fifties, so there's plenty of time for Kirby to see more horrors.

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