Mamadou: Bearer of the Best Beastly Facts

As a child, I remember not so patiently waiting for the postman to come and deliver the mail. My parents were strict and I was seldom allowed out of the house unless it was a sanctioned sporting event. So the days I had to myself where I was not condemned to sprint in the blazing Southern Californian sun was a luxury I took full advantage of. I spent my time consuming books and magazines. Hence, my waiting for the postman to come and deliver my next batch of books. One of my absolute favorite things to read was National Geographic Kids. I would pour through the glossy pages of the magazine and be dazzled by a myriad of different animals.

As I grew up, the books I indulged in for fun were replaced by mandatory reading for school. I still read and learned but learning is less amusing when it's compulsory. As an adult, I lost even more of my time consumed as I was by work and other life obligations.

That is until the global pandemic halted the world. Suddenly, I had plenty of time on my hands. To fill the void, I, like most people, downloaded TikTok when the lockdown was put into action. I am so glad I did otherwise I would not have found this gem of a man named Mamadou, known by the TikTok community as MNDIAYE_97. Mamadou rekindled my love of learning about animals to an extent that I have not felt since I was a child. But these are not the PG animal facts of my youth.

Mamadou's videos grip you with irresistible titles such as “The Five Biggest Disappoints in Nature,” “Ruining Horses for Sixty Seconds Straight,” and one of my personal favorites, “Animals that Disturb my Soul.” Did I forget to mention that he is hilarious? These obviously aren't the run of the mill "koalas eat eucalyptus leaves" sort of videos. Here I am in my thirties feeling the same giddy excitement I felt as a kid, hungry for information. Only now I am swiping through videos in lieu of pawing through pages.

With comical opening lines such as, “animal myths that you believe because you were a stupid little kid, like me,” it is not surprising that he has amassed a following of 4.9 million fans with a combined total of 239.5 million likes on his videos. That is not even factoring in how many people who have actually seen his content.

My friend group is made up of what has to be the last few TikTok holdouts. I have been tasked with spreading the joy that is his content by dispersing his videos. “Oh I love him,” my best girlfriend will say after sharing a laugh upon finding out that “cats see us as bigger and more awkward cats.” If I send one of his videos to my colleagues, I get the pleasure of seeing their mouths turn up into a smile, knowing that they just heard Mamadou matter of factly state that “walruses... put polar bears in coffins” and he does not trust those things.

Mamadou’s brilliance does not just come from his wealth of knowledge. Anyone who can read can regurgitate facts from an encyclopedia. It is not even that he goes for the more obscure or funny animals that one would not normally come across. It is all in his personality and delivery. It's his way with words and creative use of Gen-Z slang to get his points across. Goodness, I sound old for typing that last part out!

How can you not help but guffaw when someone says: “This is the Marabou stork because I do not approve of their vibe. Nicknamed the Undertaker because I am pretty sure they snatch souls. Five feet tall with a ten foot wingspan [and] apparently they murk children. It does not help matters that they look like an STD with a beak. Look at this massacre and tell me they are not malicious intent with wings.” Come on, he is not wrong (shown below).

In a world in turmoil, sickness, and disaster, it is more important now than ever to have creators like Mamadou shining their light during the darkest of times. He has brought delight to millions of people. I have never come across a video of his that did not bring me or others happiness. He dredged up buried memories of flipping through magazines featuring exotic creatures in the sunlight that I had lost in the shuffle of growing up. He brought a forgotten piece of me back to myself whilst also telling me something I will never forget: “Female Hyenas have a pseudo penis they give birth from and yes it is as bad as you think… The only way out is by splitting the pseudo in half.” And for that I can only thank him.