Bangkok
CNN
—
With her rosy cheeks and natural charisma, two-month-old pygmy hippo Moo Deng is winning millions of fans online and drawing huge crowds to the Thai zoo where she lives.
The tiny new arrival at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo east of the capital Bangkok has been a hit on social media since her keepers began uploading snippets of her life online.
When she’s not devouring grapes, she’s rolling around on the ground or bathing in the scorching Thai sun.
According to social media clips that have garnered millions of views, she also loves to vigorously chew on her caregivers’ knees while showering.
“It’s their natural cuteness, their behavior, that attracts tourists,” Narongwit Chodchoy, director of the zoo, told CNN.
The zoo’s visitor numbers have increased by at least 30 percent, Narongwit said. But Moo Deng’s fame has also brought unwanted disruptions to her life, prompting the director to issue a warning.
“Some tourists behaved inappropriately. One poured water on her, while another threw a conch at Moo Deng as she lay on the ground,” he said.
He urged tourists to be considerate and announced that he would take legal action against anyone who harmed the mammalian child star.
While she continues to attract admirers in person, Moo Deng has achieved her greatest fame online.
A particularly popular video on Facebook – showing her yawning and seemingly enjoying a chin tap from her caregiver – has garnered 5.8 million views and counting.
“She is a star,” wrote one enamored fan, Aom Worawan, on Facebook.
Another, Napatsawan Balee, said that “a superstar was reborn as a hippo.”
“She was famous from the moment she was born,” they wrote. “Haha so cute!!”
The name Moo Deng means “jumping pig” in Thai and is a popular pork dish known for its chewiness. The name was chosen by 20,000 Facebook users in a poll in August, according to the zoo.
She was born on July 10 to Jona and Tony, who had two children before her, Moo Toon and Moo Warn, both of whom are also named after dishes on a Thai menu.
Pygmy hippos are native to West Africa and are smaller relatives of hippos. According to the UK-based Pygmy Hippo Foundation, there are only about 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the wild, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Narongwit recommends that the best time to see Moo Deng in action at the zoo is between 8 and 9 a.m. in the morning, when keepers are cleaning her enclosure. “At this time, Moo Deng is full of energy as the keepers are splashing around in the water,” he said.
Another good time would be in the afternoon when the keeper feeds the mother while Moo Deng follows her everywhere. The baby hippo is very attached to Jona, Narongwit said.
