Bangkok, Sep 13 (EFE).- With an adorable face that seems to smile and a friendly character, a baby pygmy hippopotamus, an endangered species, has become the star of a zoo near Bangkok, captivating visitors and becoming famous on social media.
The baby hippo, named Moo Deng (Jumping Pig, in Thai), is a female of only two months, but since her birth she has doubled the number of visitors to the Khao Kheow zoo, about 110 kilometers east of Bangkok, according to the zoo’s Facebook account.
Napping, eating or frolicking with his mother, the animal appears in dozens of videos on social media, where users seem fascinated by the adventures of the little hippo.
To capitalize on his stardom, the zoo, which in recent weeks has multiplied its followers on social media, has put on sale traditional Thai t-shirts and pants with the animal’s print.
However, fame has also brought undesired behaviors from some visitors. The director of the zoo, Narongwit Chodchoi, asked visitors to respect Moo Deng, when he reported a tourist who threw a jet of water at the baby.
“These behaviors are not only cruel, but also dangerous. We must protect the animals and ensure that they are safe and comfortable with their environment,” Chodchoi said, according to The Nation newspaper.
A Social Media Sensation
The fever for Moo Deng, which appears in all kinds of memes and photographs on social media such as Facebook and Instagram, has also crossed borders.
“She is an icon, a legend, she is having her moment!” the zoo wrote on its Facebook profile Friday, sharing an article about the animal from American magazine Time.
Pygmy hippos, a species with fewer than 3,000 specimens in the wild, are native to West Africa and are classified as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. EFE
