In just a month, Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo at Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo, has captured hearts globally via social media. Atthapon Nundee, the zookeeper, has been sharing adorable moments of various zoo animals for five years but was astounded by Moo Deng's rapid rise to fame. As a result, visitor numbers to the zoo, 60 miles southeast of Bangkok, have surged from about 3,000 during a weekend to 10,000—and the new-found fame has prompted the zoo to start the process of patenting and trademarking "Moo Deng the hippo" so the 2-month-old animal can't be commercialized by anyone else. "After we do this, we will have more income to support activities that will make the animals' lives better," said zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi.
Moo Deng's name, meaning "bouncy pork" in Thai, was chosen by fans and reflects her playful nature. Her endearing antics have turned her into a subject of memes and cartoon drawings, even featuring on the X social media platform. However, the overwhelming popularity has led to some negative incidents in which visitors have thrown things at the sleeping hippo to try to wake her up, prompting the zoo to post warnings and consider legal action. To capitalize on Moo Deng's popularity, the zoo is creating branded merchandise and planning a 24-hour live feed of her habitat. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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