LA Zoo will name adorable newborn pudu after K-Pop star: 'Baby Haechan my heart my soul'

Haechan, of the K-Pop boy band NCT, now has a namesake at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Little Haechan is a newborn southern pudu, one of the world’s smallest species of deer, which rivals a puppy in cuteness. On Wednesday, the zoo announced the Dec. 19 arrival of the unnamed animal in an Instagram post. From there, it didn’t take long for NCT fans to make comments about his resemblance to one of their favorite music stars, whose real name is Lee Dong-hyuk.

They called the zoo’s new addition “Baby Haechan” and “Little Haechan,” and, of course, they talked about his adorableness.

Zoo officials then stepped in and offered to bend its rules for naming animals if fans raised $2,000 by Jan. 14. They also said they would offer the human Haechan a visit.

Fans delivered, big time. As of Thursday afternoon, the Facebook page for the fundraiser reported that 184 people had donated more than $2,500 in a single day.

The zoo promised to offer details about an official naming. (Presumably, it will be done in a ceremony with NCT blasting.) In a few weeks, a plaque will be installed near Haechan’s habitat in honor of the donors, as is always the procedure.

Katherine Spada, social media manager for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, tells us that she hopes to continue offering updates on the fawn as he grows.

“Hopefully, this will draw some attention to these animals and the work we do with them,” Spada said.

People were definitely excited.

“Baby Haechan my heart my soul,” read a comment on the Instagram post.

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