You may have never heard of the Babirusa before but I guarantee you will be sharing today’s Wild Fact with your friends. This is because the Babirusa is capable of doing something that is incredibly unique. What is it? Well, you are going to have to wait for at least one or two more paragraphs to find out. This member of the pig family has an odd and sporadic distribution throughout a few islands in Indonesia. Researchers believe their bizarre distribution is a result of the Babirusa being offered as gifts to native royalty. Nothing says “thanks for having us” like introducing an invasive species into a delicate ecosystem!

The Teething Process

All right, I am too excited to talk about the unique teeth of the male Babirusa. As you can see from the picture above, they have incredibly long canine teeth that protrude out from their mouth. In fact, they have two sets of long canine teeth, an upper and a lower set, with the upper set being the most unique. Most animals with long canines just let them stick out the side of their mouth. The Babirusa takes a different approach as their upper teeth will grow through their snout from the inside, outwards. And you thought getting your first tooth was painful!

A Threat to Themselves

If the Babirusa isn’t careful, these unique upper canines will result in their demise. There have been many specimens that have let their upper canines grow too long, causing them to curl back and pierce their skull. Typically, this isn’t a desired fate. The worst part is, these upper canines don’t serve any real function as their position makes it impossible to use them for foraging or defence. It is believed that these large canines are simply used as a status symbol to show rank amongst other Babirusa. Just one more example of a guy going to extreme lengths to impress the ladies.

The Biggest Threat

Although the Babirusa is capable of accidentally killing themselves, their biggest threat is of the human variety. Poaching and habitat destruction have caused this pig species to be listed as endangered. The Government in Indonesia has made it illegal to hunt the Babirusa but that doesn’t seem to deter the inhabitants from collecting this “delicacy”.  With any luck this interesting pig species will be able to survive the onslaught of poachers and habitat destruction as they are truly an unique animal species.