what relation do they have to folklore?
In Liberia the animal was traditionally known as a "water cow".
Pygmy hippopotamus
 In Liberia the animal was traditionally known as a "water cow".
what is the pygmy hippopotamus? It  is a small hippopotamid. can you please describe it? They share the same general form as a hippopotamus. They have a graviportal skeleton, with four stubby legs and four toes on each foot, supporting a portly frame. The pygmy hippo, however, is only half as tall as the hippopotamus. The skin is  greenish-black or brown, shading to a creamy gray where is it found? It is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coas what does it eat? Its diet consists of ferns, broad-leaved plants and fruits how does it reproduce? A study of breeding behavior in the wild has never been conducted; the artificial conditions of captivity may cause the observed behavior of pygmy hippos in zoos to differ from natural conditions. are they extinct? Yes, several species of small hippopotamids have become extinct are there any conservation efforts being made to save the remaining ones? UNANSWERABLE
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Pygmy hippopotamus [SEP] History and folklore
While the common hippopotamus was 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". 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.