Thailand Zoo Concerned About the Safety of Celebrity Baby Pygmy Hippo, Moo Deng | Animals

Her toothless chewing is already an web hit and now Moo Deng, the pygmy hippopotamus, is starring in beauty adverts and rapidly changing into a model ambassador for Thailand.

But the 2-month-old's meteoric rise to on-line stardom has additionally prompted her caretakers to induce guests to behave and restrict the time they will see her.

Moo Deng, also referred to as the “bouncing pig,” was named after a vote from greater than 20,000 kids and vacationers on the Facebook web page of the the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, a metropolis in japanese Thailand, the place she was born in July. 

The hippo has turn into an web sensation since her caretakers started importing movies of her going about her day, which principally contains napping, strolling round her enclosure and chewing her caretakers' knees whereas being hosed down for a bathe.

And similar to any human superstar, Moo Deng has dozens of fan pages on social media with footage and movies capturing her each second in public.

The Thai Embassy in Tokyo additionally posted footage of Moo Deng on X, inviting guests to the zoo in Japanese.

The beauty model Sephora is promoting its blush products in Thailand to attain the similar “pink & peachy tone” of Moo Deng’s cheeks. A bakery in Bangkok said Sunday on Facebook that it must restrict orders for its Moo Deng look-alike muffins as a result of demand was so excessive.

Moo Deng can be starring in an countless flurry of web memes and fan artwork. 

A video on Tiktok exhibiting Moo Deng’s caretaker taking part in with the hippo has been seen greater than 33 million occasions, with greater than 2 million likes. “That baby hippo looks like he was just hatched,” one remark reads.

Other movies of Moo Deng on the TikTok account even have tens of millions of views. Another 29-second video posted on X exhibiting Moo Deng chomping away on her day by day veggies has been seen greater than 15 million occasions. 

But her caretakers are more and more involved for her security, with some followers throwing water and different objects at Moo Deng, prompting the zoo’s director to threaten authorized motion.

Officials mentioned Sunday that the zoo had restricted visits to simply Saturday and Sunday, with every viewing spherical restricted to 5 minutes.

“These behaviors are not only cruel but also dangerous,” zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi was quoted as saying by native media. “We must protect these animals and ensure that they have a safe and comfortable environment,” he mentioned. 

Pygmy hippos have been categorized as an endangered species, with their numbers dwindling from poaching and simply 2,000 of them believed to be alive in the wild, in accordance with the Pygmy Hippo Foundation.

An grownup pygmy hippo can dwell as much as 50 years and attain half the top of a full-size hippo. They principally eat grass, leaves, shoots and fallen fruits when in the wild.