Beloved Baby Hippo Moo Deng celebrates the first birthday in a Thailand zoo

Thousands of excited fans went to a Thai zoo on Thursday to celebrate the first birthday of Sothe adorable hypopotamus that has become a sensation of social networks.

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo was invaded with Moo Deng fans in the first four days of activities that mark the birthday of the hippo. Children under 12 can enter the zoo, at a two -hour trip from the capital of Bangkok, for free throughout extravagance.

Excited fans

Many of Moo Deng fans flew miles to see her.

Among them was Molly Swindall, who traveled from New York for celebrations. He was seen delivering a food tray to a guardian of the Zoo for the Breakfast of Moo Deng, that the Hippo and his mother Jona devoured quickly.

“I just loved her a lot and I decided that you know what, I have three or four days off of work,” Swindall said. “I can make it work to fly to Thailand. I will only be there for about 30 hours, but that is enough to go see Moo Deng. And that is exactly what I did.”

For Thursday afternoon, the number of visitors reached 12,000, said Zoological director Narongwit Chodchoy. Despite the noise of the visitors calling their attention, Moo Deng seemed peaceful while putting a dip in a pond in his enclosure.

Fans photographed Hippo Baby with their cameras or cell phones and sang “happy birthday” when their birthday cake, made of a variety of fruits and vegetables, placed itself near the pond.

“Moo Deng is my happy pill, and she is my energy pill, my curing pill. It’s my vitamin!” Thea Chávez said, which flew from Houston, Texas.

Another fan, Jennifer, from Malaysia, leaned over the enclosure to take photos.

“She makes me happy. Every time I’m stressed at work, I take photos of Moo Deng,” Tang said. “So all my office knows that I am here … They let me take a week off.”

The zoo celebrated online auctions to celebrate Moo Deng’s birthday, with photos, fingerprints and a food container offered to raise funds for all animals under their care.

They also celebrated an auction for the honor of sponsoring their birthday cake, which was for 100,000 Baht ($ 3,065).

A hippo of the star

Moo Deng shot at stardom shortly after she was born, largely thanks to her goalkeeper, Atthapon Nundee, who shared adorable photos and videos of Hippo Baby on social networks. Atthapon keeps Moo Deng fans updated in fun moments of hippo: how she twists while trying to wash it, bites it while trying to play, or calmly closes the eyes while rubbing the belly.

The name Moo Deng, which literally means “inflatable pork” in Thai, was chosen by fans through a survey on social networks. It coincides with the names of their other brothers: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). There is also another hippo in the zoo called Kha Moo (stewed leg).

The zoo, which is found in 800 hectares (almost 2,000 acres) of land and houses more than 2,000 animals, saw visitors from shortly after Moo Deng was born. But Narongwit said the number of visitors has fallen a bit since the peak of Moo Deng’s fame. He said that the zoo has had about 2,000 visitors during one day of the week and around 5,000 during the weekends in recent months, approximately half of the numbers he saw in full swing.

“Moo Deng is a representative of all wild animals, and helps everyone to understand the roles of the zoos,” Narongwit told News. “She speaks for all almost extinct animals and directs people’s attention to their conservation.”

What to know about pygmy hippos

The zoo also executes reproduction programs for many endangered species, including the pigmeo hypopotamus. The species is native to West Africa, where it is threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. There are only 2,000 to 3,000 in nature. Pygmers are now in nature in just four countries: Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the Wildlife Alliance of the San Diego Zoo. The species is threatened by logging, agriculture and increased human development.

Pygmean hippos are one of the two species of hippos, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. The large/common Hippo River is the third largest living mammal, after the white elephants and rhinos. Pygmean hypopotms can grow to weigh more than 600 pounds, while a river hippo can weigh up to 10 times more than a pigmeter hippopotamus, according to the Wildlife Alliance of the San Diego Zoo.

In addition to the difference in size, the pigmeo hippo is also less aquatic than the common hippo, according to the San Diego Zoo. Their fingers of the feet are less website, and they also have only a couple of incisors, while the common hippo has two or three.

Pygmean hippos are largely night animals, according to experts. Its average life varies from 30 to 50 years.