Moo Deng, a two-month-old female pygmy hippo named after her moniker, which loosely translates to “bouncy pig,” is causing a stir on the internet and drawing crowds to a zoo close to Pattaya.
Since her birth in July, the number of visitors has doubled, according to Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
However, after footage of visitors mistreating Moo Deng surfaced, the director of the zoo asked visitors to behave themselves when they visited the animal.
Social media posts feature videos of some tourists dousing Moo Deng in water and even tossing her shellfish in an attempt to wake her up.
According to Mr. Narongwit, the zoo has CCTV cameras surrounding the enclosures and has threatened to take legal action against people who abuse it.
He continued, “The ideal time to visit Moo Deng is when she is awake.”
Originally from West Africa, pygmy hippos, also called dwarf hippos, are listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Less than 3,000 are thought to remain in the wild, according to experts.
