Babirusa

The female nurses the young lying down, and despite the lengthy nursing period, they may begin to eat solid food only 3-10 days after birth.

The babirusa is primarily diurnal, with a tendency to feed in the morning. Well worn paths through the jungle are used by these pigs when travelling. The babirusa is a swift runner as well as a good swimmer, and has even been recorded swimming to off-shore islands. Mud wallowing is a frequently recorded activity, while rooting with the snout - an action commonly seen in other pigs - is very uncommon. Captive individuals have been noted making nests of straw to rest in. Males must sharpen their lower tusks by rubbing them on trees, since they do not self-sharpen against the upper canines as in other pigs. These lower canines are used in an offensive manner, while the curled upper tusks probably act as a defensive shield. These long teeth are fairly brittle and are easily broken off. The senses of smell and hearing are well developed. The main vocalization is a low grunt or moan, and, when excited, they clatter their teeth.

While its general form is pig-like, the babirusa's peculiarities have warranted the creation of a separate genus. Recent studies of fossils show that this species may be more closely related to hippopotamuses than pigs, although how this fits in with the recent hippopotamus-cetacean relationship is unknown. Native legend has it that at night the babirusa hangs with its tusks from the branch of a tree. The hooked tusks are also said to look like (and have the same general function as) antlers, which is reflected in the name "babirusa", which means "pig-deer".