新闻来源：www.nbcnews.com
原文地址：Moo Deng, celebrity baby pygmy hippo, has Thailand zoo worried
新闻日期：2024-09-16
姆豆 Deng 最近已成为网络红人，并被选为泰国的品牌大使。然而，这只小河马的突然爆红也引起了关注和担忧。由于她受到越来越多的关注，一些粉丝开始用弹水和其他物品投掷姆豆 Deng，从而威胁到她的安全。
姆豆 Deng 于今年7月在泰国东部城市春武里的Khao Kheow开放动物园出生，并因当地2万多名儿童和游客投票而得名“跳跃猪”。自从她的看护人开始上传她日常生活视频以来，这只小河马便成为了网络红人。视频中，姆豆 Deng 大部分时间都在 enclosure 中游走、休息，还会不时咬抱照顾者的膝盖，并在洗澡时享受被水淋。
为了保护姆豆 Deng 的安全，她的看护者和管理机构已经采取了措施。他们决定限制每天的参观次数，每个参观者只能在她 enclosure 内停留5分钟。动物园馆长纳隆维特·查多猜在当地媒体上表示，人们不仅要尊重小河马的空间感，还要确保她在一个安全舒适的环境中生活。
此外，值得注意的是，姆豆 Deng 是一种濒危物种，在野外的数量不断减少。由于捕猎和人为活动的影响，这种动物只有约2000个个体存活。在圈养环境下，成年姆豆 Deng 可以活50年，并且身高通常只有一般河马的一半。
她们主要以草、树叶、嫩枝和果实为食。
原文摘要：
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.
