Minahasa Raya Net
Minahasa Raya Net

Babirusa
(Babyrousa babyrussa)

Conservation status:  
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red Data Book, 2000)
- Protected animal under Indonesian law
- Appendix I (CITES)

Taxonomy:
Local name
Indonesian name
English name
French name
Scientific name
Genus
Family
Order
Class
Phylum
Kingdom		 : Babirusa (pig-deer)
: Babirusa, Tualangio
: Babirusa
: Babiroussa
: Babyrousa babyrussa
: Babyrousa
: Suidae
: Artiodactyla
: Mammalia
: Chordata
: Animalia


Pictures:  

By:
1. Adult babirusa © Brent Huffman c/o The Ultimate Ungulate Page
2. Close up © Roger Birkel c/o  Kratts' Creatures
3. Adult babirusa Indonesian tourism office

Physical		  

- Babirusa has a pair of upper tusks and a pair of lower tusks.
  The upper tusks grow through the top of the muzzle and then curve backward toward the
  forehead. The lower tusks grow, like wild swine, from the sides of the jaws.
- Length of body + head
- Length of tail
- Height of shoulder
- Weight		 : 87.5 - 106.5 cm
: 27.5 - 32 cm
: 65 - 80 cm
: up to 100 kg
The skin is either rough and brownish gray or smooth and sparsely covered with short whitish gray to yellowish hairs, with lighter color on the underside of the body and the inner sides of the legs. The skin usually hangs in loose folds.

Reproduction:  		  

- Offspring are produced in the earlier months of the year
- Gestation Period: 155 - 158 days.
- Young per Birth: 1 or 2

Behavior:  		  

These animals are swift runners and often swim in the sea to reach small islands. They travel in small parties of about 8 individuals and reveal their presence by low grunting moans.

Life cycle:  		  

- Weaning: At 6-8 months.
- Sexual Maturity: At 1-2 years.
- Life span: Up to 24 years.


Threats and Predators:  
- Human (Hunting for meat and trade)
- Habitat Loss (primarily human induced)
- Direct Loss/Exploitation
- Pathogens/parasites

Habitat:  		  

Endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia:
moist forest, canebrakes, and the shore of rivers and lakes.

Population:  		  

Estimated 4,000 individuals (year 1986)

Diet:  
Fruits, fungi, leaves, insect larvae, nuts.

Sources:
- The Ultimate Ungulate Page
- IUCN Red Data Book
- Biodiversity Conservation Project
- CITES
- Corbet G.B. and J.E. Hill. A world list of mammalian species. British museum, London. 1987.
- Nowak, Ronald M., ed. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 5th Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press,
   Baltimore and London. 1991.
- Parker Sybil. P.: Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. McGraw-Hill, New York. 1990.
- Wallace, A. R.: The Malay Archipelago. Dover publications, New York. 1890