Did you know that the babirusa pig is a wild pig that has extraordinary curving canine teeth, or tusks, that bend towards its forehead?
These teeth can astonishingly grow through the skin on the top of the snout! Surely, you have never heard the word ‘babirusa‘.
It is a word in the Malay language and means pig deer. The wild growth of the babirusa’s tusks is similar to that of deer antlers, and that is why it was named so.
This unique pig can be seen in the rainforests and swamps of Indonesian islands. This wild animal belongs to the Suidae pig family and is a member of the genus Babyrousa.
It is a member of the pig family but is different from common pigs due to its unique features. The snout of the babirusa is not as specialized when compared to that of the rest of the pigs.
This pig also has a complicated two-chambered stomach which is similar to the sheep’s digestive system.
It’s believed by scientists that during early evolution, babirusa pigs branched off from the pig family.
Both sexes have lower tusks, however, it is the upper tusks of the male that make the babirusa species famous!
The babirusa has a barrel-shaped body and possesses bristly skin with legs that are similar to that of a deer. It can possess white, black, creamy gold, gray, or brown color on its body.
It appears to be hairless or naked. It can reach a height of 2 ft (0.6 m) and range between 3-3.7 ft (0.9-1.1 m) in length.
Its upper canines are similar to antlers a lot more than tusks. Keep reading to get to known about this distinct physical feature of the charismatic babirusa pig as well as its behavior, young, diet, and more!
It is renowned for its unusual upper tusks that are possessed just by the males. Lower tusks are possessed by both sexes.
The male babirusa’s canine teeth like many other pigs grow continuously throughout their life. The babirusa’s lower canine teeth overlap the snout and become longer as they grow.
However, it’s the upper tusks that are their characteristic physical feature. They grow in the downward direction and bend backward to grow into the top of the snout.
If these teeth do not get broken down in a fight or aren’t worn down, they will pass through the skin and start curving back to the forehead of the animal.
The unique tusks can be as long as 12 in (30.4 cm) and can surprisingly grow into the skull! The body is barrel-shaped covered with bristly skin along with deer-like legs.
Its coloration can be white, black, creamy gold, gray, or brown. They can appear to be hairless or naked.
They can reach a height of 2 ft (0.6 m) and their length can vary between 3-3.7 ft (0.9-1.1 m).
The speed of this pig has not been evaluated yet. However, we do know that domestic pig can attain a top speed of 11 mph (17.7 kph)!
It can weigh up to a whopping weight of 220 lb (99.8 kg) which is approximately four times the weight of a Juliana pig!
They’re omnivorous and feed upon fruits, leaves, berries, mushrooms, nuts, bark, fish, insects and their larvae, and small mammals.
It can balance on its two hind legs and feed upon tree leaves. Apart from humans, its predators include domestic and feral dogs.
The babirusa is a forest-dwelling pig that inhabits the swamps in Indonesian rainforests. It lives in Sula, Buru, Togian, and Sulawesi islands only and cannot be spotted anywhere else in the world.
It prefers to inhabit moist forests grounds covered with a dense growth of canes, near shores of lakes and rivers. Dense shrub vegetation is avoided by these oinkers.
When kept in the sand in captivity, the babirusa kneels down and pushes its head into the sand to create a deep furrow.
It snorts, growls, and lets foamy saliva out of its mouth while plowing. The males of this species will plow powerfully in presence of another male.
The mating system of babirusa pigs has been characterized as a roving dominance hierarchy between male pigs of a region.
Males utilize their unique tusks to win a fight with other males during their breeding season which is from January to August.
The winner of the fight gets the power to breed with many females. The gestation period varies between 150-157 days, producing a small litter of one to two piglets.
The babirusa’s small size of litter is assumed to be caused by the predator-free environment. The weight of the young varies between 13.4-37 oz (380-1050 g).
The young are welcomed to the world in the initial months of a year. The young start to include solid food in their diet just three to ten days after birth.
The piglets are weaned at six to eight months after birth. The piglets become sexually mature between one to two years of age.
Are they dangerous?
They’re known to get into fights with males where they employ their canines. It would be safer to maintain a distance from these animals.
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