A playful and pudgy baby hippopotamus in Thailand who loves splashing about in water and enjoys belly rubs from her keeper has captivated the internet and left the zoo housing her struggling to manage large crowds jostling to see the latest global celebrity.

Zoo animals deserve our love. Here are some of the famous zoo animals around the world, from Moo Deng to Lin Bing and beyond.

A two-month-old baby pygmy hippo in Thailand who went viral on social media has been harassed by visitors, leading to zoo authorities adding additional security around her enclosure. Moo Deng, whose name translates to “bouncy pork”, became instantly popular after clips of her on the zoo’s TikTok account caught the notice of people online.

CHONBURI, Thailand (Reuters) – Thailand’s latest internet celebrity, baby hippo “Moo Deng”, is challenging her keepers with the unexpectedly big crowds she is drawing to her zoo, two hours south of the capital Bangkok.

The illustrious Moo Deng has attracted a frenzy of attention. But in the wild, her species is quietly disappearing.

An endangered baby pygmy hippo that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo in Chonburi province, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said.