Moo Deng, celebrity baby pygmy hippo, has Thailand zoo worried

Her toothless chewing is already an internet hit and now Moo Deng, the pygmy hippopotamus, is starring in cosmetic ads and quickly becoming a brand ambassador for Thailand.

But the 2-month-old’s meteoric rise to online stardom has also prompted her caretakers to urge visitors to behave and limit the time they can see her.

Moo Deng, also known as the “bouncing pig,” was named after a vote from more than 20,000 children and tourists on the Facebook page of the the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, a city in eastern Thailand, where she was born in July. 

The hippo has become an internet sensation since her caretakers began uploading videos of her going about her day, which mostly includes napping, walking around her enclosure and chewing her caretakers’ knees while being hosed down for a shower.

And just like any human celebrity, Moo Deng has dozens of fan pages on social media with pictures and videos capturing her every moment in public.

The Thai Embassy in Tokyo also posted pictures of Moo Deng on X, inviting visitors to the zoo in Japanese.

The cosmetic brand Sephora is promoting its blush products in Thailand to achieve the same “pink & peachy tone” of Moo Deng’s cheeks. A bakery in Bangkok said Sunday on Facebook that it would have to limit orders for its Moo Deng look-alike cakes because demand was so high.

Moo Deng is also starring in an endless flurry of internet memes and fan art. 

A video on Tiktok showing Moo Deng’s caretaker playing with the hippo has been viewed more than 33 million times, with more than 2 million likes. “That baby hippo looks like he was just hatched,” one comment reads.

Other videos of Moo Deng on the TikTok account also have millions of views. Another 29-second video posted on X showing Moo Deng chomping away on her daily veggies has been viewed more than 15 million times. 

But her caretakers are increasingly concerned for her safety, with some fans throwing water and other objects at Moo Deng, prompting the zoo’s director to threaten legal action.

Officials said Sunday that the zoo had limited visits to just Saturday and Sunday, with each viewing round limited to five minutes.

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

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

An adult pygmy hippo can live up to 50 years and reach half the height of a full-size hippo. They mostly eat grass, leaves, shoots and fallen fruits when in the wild.