CHONBURI, Thailand 鈥 Thousands of excited fans flocked to a Thai zoo on Thursday to celebrate the first birthday of聽, the adorable baby pygmy hippo that became a聽.
The Khao Kheow Open Zoo was overrun with Moo Deng fans on the first of four days of activities marking the hippo's birthday. Children under 12 years old can enter the zoo, about a two hour drive from the capital, Bangkok, for free throughout the extravaganza.
A baby pygmy Moo Deng, right, with mother Jona, eats fruit presented聽Thursday for her first birthday celebration at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand.
Excited fans
Many of Moo Deng鈥檚 fans flew miles to see her.
Among them was Molly Swindall, who traveled from New York for the celebrations. She was seen handing a tray of food to a zoo keeper for Moo Deng鈥檚 breakfast, which the baby hippo and her mother, Jona, quickly devoured.
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Molly Swindall of New York helps Khao Kheow Open Zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy C hodchoy prepare food Thursday for Moo Deng鈥檚 first birthday at the聽zoo.
鈥淚 just loved her so much and decided, 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鈥檚 enough to go see Moo Deng. And that鈥檚 exactly what I did.鈥
By Thursday afternoon, the number of visitors reached 12,000, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy said. Despite the noise of visitors calling out for her attention, Moo Deng appeared peaceful as she took a dip in a pond in her enclosure.
Fans photographed the baby hippo with their cameras or cellphones and sang 鈥淗appy birthday鈥 as her birthday cake, made of a variety of fruits and vegetables, was placed near the pond.
Visitors photograph Moo Deng eating her birthday meal Thursday at the zoo.
鈥淢oo Deng is my happy pill, and she鈥檚 my energy pill, my curing pill. She鈥檚 my vitamin!鈥 said Thea Chavez, who flew in from Houston, Texas.
Another fan, Jennifer Tang from Malaysia, leaned over the enclosure to take pictures.
鈥淪he makes me happy. Whenever I鈥檓 stressed at work I pull up photos of Moo Deng,鈥 Tang said. "So my whole office knows that I鈥檓 here聽鈥 They let me take a week off.鈥
Visitors hold a soft toy of hippo Moo Deng as they line up Thursday to see the real thing.
The zoo held online auctions to celebrate Moo Deng's birthday, with photos, footprints and a food container on offer to raise funds for all the animals under their care.
They also held an auction for the honor of sponsoring her birthday cake, which went for $3,065.
Moo Deng eats fruit Thursday during her first birthday celebration.
A star baby hippo
Moo Deng soared to stardom shortly after she was born, largely thanks to her keeper Atthapon Nundee, who shared adorable pictures and videos of the baby hippo on social media. Atthapon keeps Moo Deng's fans updated on fun hippo moments 鈥 how she squirms as he tries to wash her, bites him as he tries to play or calmly closes her eyes as he rubs her belly.
The name Moo Deng, which means 鈥渂ouncy pork鈥 in Thai, was chosen by fans via a poll on social media. It matches the names of her other siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). There is another hippo at the zoo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).
The zoo 鈥 which sits on almost 2,000 acres of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals 鈥 saw spikes of visitors since shortly after Moo Deng was born. But Narongwit said the number of visitors somewhat dropped since the height of Moo Deng鈥檚 fame. He said the zoo has had about 2,000 visitors during a weekday and around 5,000 during weekends over the past few months 鈥 about half the numbers it saw at its peak.
The zoo also runs breeder programs for many endangered species, including the pygmy hippopotamus. 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 left in the wild.
鈥淢oo Deng is a representative of all wild animals, and she helps everyone understand the roles of zoos,鈥 Narongwit told The Associated Press. 鈥淪he speaks for all nearly extinct animals, and turns people's attention to their conservation.鈥
Photos: Insect and animal life around the globe
Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A crow and a seagull fight for a prey in Tallinn Bay, Tallinn, Estonia, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A Stag in rut bellows in early morning mist Bushy Park southwest London, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Deer cross a road in the woods of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A deer walks on a road in the woods of the Taurus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A raptor after killing a pigeon in a garden in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A one horned rhinoceros and its calf graze in Pobitora wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A spider waits for his prey at the center of its net covered by water droplets in the forest outside Tallinn, Estonia, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Giraffes roam their enclosure at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A visitor looks at male Hippo Tony, at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A fawn and its mother stand together in a forest of the Taunus region in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A swan family watches Sunday walkers at Lake Baldeney in Essen, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A fourteen-pointer rests in the forest as rutting time begins in the Taunus region in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A beetle basks in the sun on a city meadow in Tallinn, Estonia, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Seagulls fly over Al Arish beach, 50 km (32,5 miles), West of Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Al Arish, Egypt, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A stork stands in the nest in Wehrheim, near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Butterflies feed on flowers nectar in a forest outside Tallinn, Estonia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A bee and a sunflower are silhouetted against the setting sun in a field Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Lawrence, Kan. The field, planted annually by the Grinter family, draws thousands of visitors during the weeklong late summer blossoming of the flowers. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Panda Yuanyuan eats her birthday cake for her 20 years old at the Taipei Zoo in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Yuanyuan was a gift from China to mark warming ties with Taiwan in 2008. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A sea lion is covered in sand on San Carlos beach in Monterey, Calif., Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A bee flies to a sunflower on a field in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Flamingos in their enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A snail looks up as it carries its house on the back at a terrace in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Thursday Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Emily, a new born Rothschild's Giraffe, born on Aug. 11, 2024. stands in front of her mother Katharina, during a name giving event at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Two storks stand in their nest in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Two storks stand in their nest in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A flock of birds fly past turbines at a wind farm, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, near Spearville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Icelandic horses play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A raptor after killing a pigeon in a garden in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A spider waits for his prey at the center of its net covered by water droplets in the forest outside Tallinn, Estonia, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Giraffes roam their enclosure at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A visitor looks at male Hippo Tony, at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A lion cub, born on July 31, and mother "Indi" play in an area visible to zoo visitors for the first time, at Schwerin zoo, in Schwerin, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Jens B眉ttner/dpa via AP)
Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng and her mother Jona are seen at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Geese stand on an outdoor table in a flooded neighbourhood in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
A fawn and its mother stand together in a forest of the Taunus region in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A swan family watches Sunday walkers at Lake Baldeney in Essen, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A fourteen-pointer rests in the forest as rutting time begins in the Taunus region in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Seagulls fly over Al Arish beach, 50 km (32,5 miles), West of Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Al Arish, Egypt, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A beetle basks in the sun on a city meadow in Tallinn, Estonia, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A bee and a sunflower are silhouetted against the setting sun in a field Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Lawrence, Kan. The field, planted annually by the Grinter family, draws thousands of visitors during the weeklong late summer blossoming of the flowers. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A stork stands in the nest in Wehrheim, near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Butterflies feed on flowers nectar in a forest outside Tallinn, Estonia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A bee flies to a sunflower on a field in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Panda Yuanyuan eats her birthday cake for her 20 years old at the Taipei Zoo in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Yuanyuan was a gift from China to mark warming ties with Taiwan in 2008. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A sea lion is covered in sand on San Carlos beach in Monterey, Calif., Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Flamingos in their enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Emily, a new born Rothschild's Giraffe, born on Aug. 11, 2024. stands in front of her mother Katharina, during a name giving event at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
