Details
Babyrousa celebensis
The babirusa is an Indonesian pig relative with extraordinary upward-curving tusks. It walks through forest and wetland edges searching for fruit and small foods.
View in catalogMap: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits island forests, river edges, and wetland margins in the Australasian and Indomalayan regions. Lowland forest near water is especially useful.
Length 85-110 cm; weight 43-100 kg. The body is slim with long legs and sparse grey-brown hair. In males, upper canines grow through the snout skin and curve upward.
Diurnal and loosely social, it may travel alone or in small groups. It wallows, bathes, and moves quietly through forest.
An omnivore, it eats fruit, roots, leaves, insects, and small animals. It uses fallen fruit heavily and is less specialized for rooting than many pigs.
Females bear small litters and care for young in cover. Piglets follow the mother and learn to forage in forest.
It is listed as Vulnerable. Forest loss and hunting are key threats, and conservation depends on protecting small island populations.
