Editing Pygmy hippopotamus (section)

== History and folklore ==
[[File:Pygmy hippopotamus hungry.jpg|thumb|Pair at the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy]]
While the common hippopotamus has been known to Europeans since [[classical antiquity]], the pygmy hippopotamus was unknown outside its range in West Africa until the 19th century. Due to their nocturnal, forested existence, they were poorly known within their range as well. In Liberia the animal was traditionally known as a ''water cow''.<ref name=Robinson/>

Early field reports of the animal misidentified it as a [[wild hog]]. Several skulls of the species were sent to the American natural scientist [[Samuel G. Morton]], during his residency in [[Monrovia]], [[Liberia]]. Morton first described the species in 1843. The first complete specimens were collected as part of a comprehensive investigation of Liberian fauna in the 1870s and 1880s by Dr. [[Johann Büttikofer]]. The specimens were taken to the [[Natural History Museum, Leiden|Natural History Museum]] in [[Leiden]], The [[Netherlands]].<ref name=Robinson/>

The first pygmy hippopotamus was brought to Europe in 1873 after being captured in Sierra Leone by a member of the British Colonial Service but died shortly after arrival. Pygmy hippos were successfully established in European zoos in 1911. They were first shipped to [[Germany]] and then to the [[Bronx Zoo]] in [[New York City]] where they also thrived.<ref name="The Hippos"/><ref name=Robinson>Robinson, Phillip T. [http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/Pygmy_Text.doc River Horses and Water Cows] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326091218/http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/Pygmy_Text.doc |date=2009-03-26 }}. ''[http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/index.html Hippo Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717150523/http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/index.html |date=2007-07-17 }}''. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.</ref>

In 1927, [[Harvey Firestone]] of [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone Tires]] presented [[Billy (pygmy hippo)|Billy the pygmy hippo]] to U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]]. Coolidge donated Billy to the [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoo in Washington, D.C.]] According to the zoo, Billy is a common ancestor to most pygmy hippos in U.S. zoos today.<ref name="National Zoo on pygmy hippos" /><ref name=Tale>{{Cite journal | journal = [[Quaternary International]] | volume = 117 | issue = 1 | year = 2004 | pages = 119–123 | title = The hippo's tale: how the anatomy and physiology of Late Neogene Hexaprotodon shed light on Late Neogene environmental change | author = Jablonski, Nina G. | doi = 10.1016/S1040-6182(03)00121-6 | bibcode = 2004QuInt.117..119J }}</ref>

[[Moo Deng]] is a pygmy hippopotamus living in [[Khao Kheow Open Zoo]], in Thailand, who gained notability in September 2024 as a popular [[Internet meme]] after images of her went viral online.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2024 |title=Moo Deng: Thailand zoo's celebrity baby pygmy hippo |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy848292dr4o |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=[[BBC]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Because of the popularity of the hippo, whose name translates to "bouncy pork", the zoo saw a boosted attendance. It has been reported that some visitors to the zoo threw water and other objects at the baby hippo to get her to react.<ref> {{Cite web |date=2024-09-29 |title=Moo Deng: Why is internet obsessed with the viral baby hippo? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/moo-deng-livestream-baby-pygmy-hippo-viral-memes-b2620832.html |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

Several folktales have been collected about the pygmy hippopotamus. One tale says that pygmy hippos carry a shining diamond in their mouths to help travel through thick forests at night; by day the pygmy hippopotamus has a secret hiding place for the diamond, but if a hunter catches a pygmy hippopotamus at night the diamond can be taken. Villagers sometimes believed that baby pygmy hippos do not nurse but rather lick secretions off the skin of the mother.<ref name=Robinson/>