A baby pygmy hippo named Moo Deng has become a social media sensation, although the little animal’s new-found popularity has become a headache for her Thai zoo.

Moo Deng is only two months old, but visitors have doubled since she was born in July, according to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo where she resides, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Popular videos of Moo Deng have been attracting millions of views online on TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.

Her name in Thai translates to ‘bouncy pig’, a common pork dish, which was decided by an online vote of 20,000 Facebook users in August after she was born on July 10.

The reclusive and nocturnal pygmy hippo is one of only two surviving members of the Hippopotamidae family, with the other being the more well-known common hippopotamus.

Pygmy hippos are native to West Africa and can be found in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, however, there are only about 2000 left alive in the wild.

Problems arise

Kao Kheow Open Zoo’s director Narongwit Chodchoi said people have been feeding Moo Deng shellfish and splashing water on her.

“These behaviours are not only cruel but also dangerous,” Narongwit said in an online statement.

“We must protect these animals and ensure that they have a safe and comfortable environment.”

@khamoo.andthegang

ฮิปโปดารา #hippo

♬ 蜜桃物语 – 仁辰 & 于行

The zoo has since implemented a five-minute limit for visitors to view Moo Deng because of her popularity and the increased harassment by visitors.

Narongwit said there are sometimes between 6000 and 7000 visitors on peak days at the zoo and the organisation is preparing to launch a 24-hour live-stream from next week.

The zoo has also launched a line of Moo Deng merchandise that will be used to improve the zoo’s habitats and the animal’s conditions.

Videos of visitors acting poorly, including one waking Moo Deng by splashing water on her, have received a massive amount of backlash from fans of the hippo online.

Conservation efforts

Pygmy Hippos have been severely affected by loss of habitat because of logging, mining and other human impacts to their forest homes in West Africa.

One distinct subspecies of the pygmy hippo, found in Nigeria, has already gone extinct because of habitat loss and hunting.

Vast conservation efforts in zoos have been made to protect the species, with hundreds found in zoos around the world.

In Australia, they can be found at Taronga Zoo in NSW, which celebrated the birth of a new calf in February.

In captivity, they live between 42 and 55 years on average.

A female Pygmy Hippopotamus calf was born to Australasia’s only breeding pair in February. Photo: Taronga Zoo/Scott Brown