A man who broke into the enclosure of viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng last month has been fined 10,000 baht (about $300) by a Thai court. Narongwit Chodchoy, director of Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, told AFP on Wednesday that the man was found guilty of trespassing. Security footage showed the man—wearing a beanie, sunglasses, and a tank top—wandering into the enclosure and filming Moo Deng on a tablet as he approached her and her mother. He lingered for roughly a minute before staff stepped in and called police. He was later arrested and charged with trespassing. Zoo officials said Moo Deng, an endangered pygmy hippo who shot to global fame in 2024, was unharmed but “slightly startled.” “No one can violate animals’ rights, no matter whether they are in an enclosure or in the wild,” Narongwit said. The zoo ramped up security following the incident. “We learned from this lesson and will not allow it to happen again—not to Moo Deng and not to other animals in the zoo,” the zoo’s director added.
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