Moo Deng, the Pygmy Hippo from Thailand, Is Getting Too Famous for Her Own Good

TikTok has fixed commencement to a caller procreation of mini-celebrities. While astir of those celebrities are humans, not each of them are. In fact, 1 of the platform’s newest (and biggest) stars is simply a pygmy hippopotamus from Thailand.

The hippo successful question is named “Moo Deng” (which translates to “bouncing pig” oregon “pork patty”) aft an net canvass recovered that was the astir fashionable sanction for the small critter. Born successful July, Moo Deng presently lives astatine the Khao Kheow Open Zoo successful the Chonburi Province of eastbound Thailand. Pygmy hippos are considered an endangered species, with 1 speech radical estimating determination are lone 2,000 of the animals near successful the wild.

One thing’s for sure: Moo Deng sureeeee is cute.

Like different celebrities borne of TikTok, she has inspired viral adulation (her videos person garnered tens of millions of views online), which has encouraged ample crowds of fans to accumulate astatine the zoo wherever helium lives. At the aforesaid time, the cute babe carnal has besides begun to spawn a increasing big of advertisement and sponsorship deals, NBC reports.

Unfortunately, the zoo wherever Moo Deng lives is disquieted astir the small hippo’s increasing stardom. Some fans person been displaying erratic, harmful behavior, including inexplicably throwing objects astatine the animal, Time mag reports. As a result, the zoo is putting caller restrictions connected visitors’ entree to her.

“These behaviors are not lone cruel but besides dangerous,” said zoo manager Narongwit Chodchoi, addressing section media outlets, as quoted by NBC. “We indispensable support these animals and guarantee that they person a harmless and comfy environment,” helium said.

We each cognize that fandom tin get a small retired of hand. Just look astatine the unhinged devotees of Jodie Foster oregon Taylor Swift, for instance. A celebrity’s astir zealous fans don’t ever behave successful the astir rational ways.

That said, who knows if Moo Deng’s stardom volition last, since it seems progressively imaginable that TikTok whitethorn not beryllium astir excessively overmuch longer. Indeed, the institution is currently warring for its life, arsenic a ineligible situation by critics seeks to efficaciously termination the platform’s beingness successful the U.S. Recently introduced authorities (which was signed into instrumentality by President Joe Biden) volition soon unit ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to merchantability the level oregon suffer its beingness successful America. Platform executives appeared successful a national appeals tribunal contiguous to reason that the instrumentality is simply a usurpation of the First Amendment rights of U.S. users. It’s unclear if the national judges successful complaint of the lawsuit volition beryllium swayed.