Part II: Species Accounts66
about the susceptibility of the babirusa to natural or introduced
pig-borne diseases (Munro et al. 1990). Hamerton reported a
case of mass infestation of the lungs of a young babirusa with
Taeniidae (Echinococcus) cysticerci shortly after it arrived in
London zoo from Sulawesi (Hamerton 1931). The diseases to
which babirusa in zoological collections have been shown to be
susceptible include the foot and mouth disease virus (Aphthae
epizooticae) in four male babirusa (Urbain et al. 1938), the bacte-
rial Mycobacterium bovis disease which caused tuberculosis in a
female (Hamerton 1941), and a fungal disease resulting in cuta-
neous aspergillosis of a male (Lopez Gonzales & Taylor 1998).Status in the Wild
Threats to Survival
Adult babirusa appear to have few, if any, natural predators. The
small numbers of young born to the babirusa suggest that this
animal is not adapted to a high rate of natural predation. No stud-
ies seem to have quantified the predatory impact on babirusa of
the larger snakes of Sulawesi. However, hunting by humans with
snares, nets, spears, and dogs has undoubtedly been an impor-
tant factor since prehistoric times (Hooijer 1948; Heekeren 1952).
Studies over the last 40 years consistently show that widespread
snare trapping constituted the main threat to the remaining popu-
lations of babirusa in North Sulawesi (Blouch 1990; Clayton et al.
1997; Lee et al. 2005), and more recently, elsewhere in Sulawesi
(Milner-Gulland & Clayton 2002; Macdonald, unpublished). In
the past, the babirusa represented a by-catch to the hunting of the
Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis). This would no longer appear
to be true. The same prices are paid for the meat of both species,
which gives the hunters no incentive to selectively catch one pig
in preference to the other (Clayton et al. 1997; Milner-Gulland &
Clayton 2002). In south-east Sulawesi the babirusa is a by-catch of
anoa hunting by Muslim communities and is regarded as a ‘con-
taminant’ of the traps (Macdonald, unpublished). These babirusa
are killed and their carcasses discarded in the forest. In other areas
the babirusa is a specific catch; they are to provide canine teeth to
traders from the island of Bali who supply their use to the making
of Balinese topengs (dance masks) (Macdonald, unpublished).
In these various ways the population of babirusa in the wild
throughout Sulawesi is being placed under severe and increas-
ing market pressures. The widespread lack of public awareness
and understanding of the problem has allowed most of north-
east Sulawesi to be stripped of babirusa, with a permanent loss
to the genetic variability of the whole population that these ani-
mals represented.
Large commercial and local-scale logging operations also
pose a major and increasingly serious threat to this species
(Smiet 1982; Abood et al. 2015). The loss and degradation of
habitat has already resulted in the dramatic diminution in the
known range of this species in North and South Sulawesi, and
on the island of Sulabesi. Babirusa are one of the first animals to
become locally extinct after logging or land opening, and does
not appear to be as adaptable as the Sulawesi warty pig.
It is not known how long babirusa live in the wild, but extrap-
olating from the experience of animals in zoological collections,
it may be about 10 years (Ziehmer et al. 2013); animals tend tolive longer in a zoo environment, and one female babirusa is
recorded to have lived for 24 years (Mohr 1960).Conservation Measures
Opportunities are available to provide conservation sup-
port for the babirusa. The species has been accorded national
protection under Indonesian law since 1931. It has been
included on Appendix I of CITES since 1982. It has also been
categorised as ‘Vulnerable (VU – A2cd C1)’ in the IUCN Red
Data Book (Macdonald et al. 2008a; Leus et al. 2016), and
listed as ‘Endangered’ by the United States Department of the
Interior (United States Department of the Interior 1980). It
is currently protected by Indonesian law; Undang-un dang
Republik Indonesia Nomor 5 Tahun 1990 Tentang Konservasi
Sumber Daya Alam Hayati Dan Ekosistmnya (Act No. 5/1990
Conservation of living resources and their ecosystems). In 2013,
the Indonesian government published a taxon-specific con-
servation strategy and action plan (Strategi Dan Rencana Aksi
Konservasi Babirusa Tahun 2013–2022) (DKKH 2015). The
national action plan identifies 11 priority conservation sites for
babirusa on Sulawesi (Bogani Nani Wartabone Connected Area,
Sojol–Nantu Mountain Connnected Area, West and East Coast of
the narrow portion connecting North and Central Sulawesi, Lore
Lindu Connected Area, Morowali, Bakiriang Connected Area,
Lombuyan, Latimojong Mountains, Takolekaju Mountains,
Verbek Mountains, and the Tangkeleboke–Abuki–Mataromba
Mountain Connected Area) (Indonesian Ministry of Forestry/
IUCN 2013). Memoranda were signed by the zoological associa-
tions in Indonesia, Europe, and North America to work together
for the conservation breeding of the babirusa in the wild and in
zoological collections (Indonesian Ministry of Forestry/IUCN
2013). Relatively small populations of babirusa reportedly still
occur in a number of the national parks, nature reserves, hunting
reserves, and protected forests in Sulawesi (Burton & Macdonald
2009; Indonesian Ministry of Forestry/IUCN 2013). Discussions
are currently underway to explore how best to promote their
conservation within these areas. Education efforts supported
by schools, newspapers, zoological societies, local and interna-
tional NGOs have distributed wildlife conservation information
to the children and raised awareness among the general pub-
lic on Sulawesi (Maklis 1991; Milner-Gulland & Clayton 2002;
Indonesian Ministry of Forestry/IUCN 2013). More is needed,
however. Recent anecdotal reports indicate that babirusa remain
subject to local hunting. Pressure from an expanding human
population and insufficient up-to-date and widely distributed
information seem to combine with other factors to make much of
the protective legislation ineffective at a local level. The amount
of suitable habitat remaining within the forest-degraded ‘pro-
tected’ areas is less than that suggested by the map-designated
sizes of these reserves. Small populations of babirusa isolated in
relatively small pockets of forest are not viable in the medium
to long term (Frankham et al. 2010; Indonesian Ministry of
Forestry/IUCN 2013). Efforts have been made to identify the
range of genetic variability that still exists within the babirusa
population (Macdonald et al., unpublished); forthcoming pub-
lications will inform both local and international conservation
breeding before the animals it represents are killed off..00812:33:17