Woman appears to fire slingshot at zoo where Moo Deng lives

A tourer has sparked outrage by firing a slingshot astatine animals successful a zoo adjacent to wherever personage babe hippo Moo Deng is kept.

The Chinese holidaymaker was seen brandishing the limb portion launching items towards an enclosure astatine the Khao Kheow Open Zoo successful Chonburi, Thailand, connected October 20.

Several tourists from the aforesaid radical were seen lasting alongside her and laughing – seemingly unaware of the dangers posed by the behaviour.

Patcharida Chueakhamhod, a nonmigratory who was visiting the zoo that time to spot Moo Deng, recorded the tourer arsenic she utilized the slingshot.

She said: ‘The tourer was shooting astatine the animals successful the zoo. At first, I did not judge what they were doing. I looked intimately and I saw that she was utilizing a slingshot, truthful I recorded her for evidence.

‘I did not privation to face them due to the fact that I was unsocial and determination was a large radical of them. I don’t talk Chinese, truthful I deliberation it would person been dangerous.’

A zookeeper who looks aft Moo Deng said the radical were firing lumps of ungraded and stones that they had scooped up from the ground.

He said: ‘I was shocked by what these tourists were doing. I lone saw the video of the incidental aft it had happened. So we could not drawback them erstwhile it was happening.

‘We volition constitute a missive to the circuit institution that brought these radical to the zoo. They indispensable pass aboriginal guests astir their behaviour. I volition besides record a study with the authorities.’

Moo Deng is simply a two-month-old pygmy hippopotamus surviving astatine Khao Kheow Open Zoo. She was calved connected July 20, 2024, to her parents Tony and Jonah and was named Moo Deng, which means bouncy pig, done a nationalist poll, with much than 20,000 radical voting.

She drew crowds to the zoo aft gaining popularity successful September 2024 arsenic a fashionable net meme, pursuing trending images of her emerging online.

Her fame surged erstwhile the zoo posted pictures of her connected its Facebook page, showcasing her successful comic gestures.

Due to her popularity, the fig of regular visitors to the zoo doubled successful aboriginal September.

The Zoological Park Organization of Thailand reported that the fig of tourists visiting reached 159,743, a important summation from August’s full of 98,046.

The pygmy hippopotamus is listed arsenic an endangered taxon connected the IUCN Red List and is classified nether Appendix II of CITES.

Pygmy hippos are tiny hippopotamids autochthonal to the forests and swamps of West Africa, chiefly successful Liberia, with tiny populations successful Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.

The Khao Kheow zoo has made the determination to prohibition slingshots pursuing the incident.

Get successful interaction with our quality squad by emailing america astatine [email protected].

For much stories similar this, check our quality page.

MORE : Mountain rescuers prevention ewe stranded connected cliff borderline with the assistance of a sheep sack

MORE : Seal spotted sunbathing successful cardinal London

MORE : Moo Deng has a caller person successful municipality — and they request a name

This tract is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.