Plans are under way for the older brother of the celebrity hippo Moo Deng to mate with Moo Manao of the Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo to expand the pygmy hippopotamus population in Thailand.
Moo Toon just turned five years old on Oct 27, when his birthday party was held at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri, where he and his sister live. Moo Manao is now eight years old. Both are at the perfect age for breeding, according to zoo staff.
Narongwit Chodchoy, the director of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, said on Wednesday that he had sent a team to Nakhon Ratchasima to conduct a health check on the female pygmy hippo before transporting her to Chon Buri for breeding.
The zoo is now arranging an enclosure for the soon-to-be couple to live together, and a “wedding” will also be held, Mr Narongwit said.
Pygmy hippos are shy and they like to live alone, so their breeding area needs to be properly provided, he added.
The global celebrity of Moo Deng has raised awareness about pygmy hippos, who are considered an endangered species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are fewer than 2,500 adult pygmy hippos in the wild, and the population is declining.