Ecology, Conservation and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries

Part II: Species Accounts

78

species. One reason might be insufficient water resources to ful-

fil the habitat requirements.

Descriptive Notes

As other babirusa species, the most remarkable morphological

feature of Togian babirusa is a pair of upper canine tusks on the

dorsal surface of the snout in the males. The upper canine erupts

from the socket or the alveolar bone directing upward, penetrates

the skin of the snout, and then curves backward. Therefore, the

upper canine does not appear in the oral cavity and does not have

the masticatory function. The large protruding upper canine is

thought to attract females. On the other hand, these teeth do not

grow up and then cannot be seen in females.

No body measurements have been recorded for Togian

babirusa. However, judging from the skull, teeth measurements

(Meijaard & Groves 2002a, 2002b) and direct observations in the

wild (Ito et al. 2005; Akbar et al. 2007), this babirusa is thought

to be the largest among the three extant species (Figure 8.3). The

weight of large males is estimated to be at least 100 kg (Akbar

et al. 2007), whereas that of Babyrousa celebensis males is up to

100 kg maximum (Macdonald 1993). The female is approxi-

mately two-thirds the size of the male (Selmier 1983). According

to the observation of six skulls found on Malenge Island, the

dental formula of the permanent teeth is I2/3, C1/1, P2/2, M3/3,

giving a total of 34 teeth (Figure 8.4). This formula is the same as

Babyrousa celebensis (Meijaard & Groves 2002b; Ito 2009; Ito &

Balik 2010). Compared to the other two babirusas, this species

has smaller teeth, especially the third molars (Groves 1980), and

relatively large premolars (Meijaard & Groves 2002b). When the

skull is observed in lateral view, the upper canines of the males

are short, slender and curving backward and always converge.

The frontal furrows of the skull are always shallow, with slop-

ing edges (Groves 1980). This species is also characterised by

body hairs, although these are less long and dense than those of

Moluccan babirusa. The pelage of the dorsal parts is darker than

that of the ventral parts and fawn, brown or black in colour. This

species has a well-developed tail tuft (Groves 1980; Macdonald

1993; Meijaard & Groves 2002a, 2002b). Because the Togian

babirusa is very shy and has a keen sense of smell, detailed

observations from close distances in the wild are difficult and

the ecology of this species is still largely unknown.

Figure 8.2 Togian babirusa has a lim-

ited geographical distribution in the four

islands of Malenge, Talatakoh, Togian,

and Batudaka.

Figure 8.3 An adult male Togian babirusa in a wallow site (Malenge Island;

photo by Masaaki Ito).

Figure 8.4 A skull of adult male Togian babirusa from Malenge Island.

The babirusa differs from any other suids in the structure of upper canines

and the alveoli. Adult males of all babirusa species have upper canines

curving backward on the dorsal surface of the snout. When the skull is

compared among the three species, the upper canines of the male Togian

babirusa and Moluccan babirusa are short and slender, and the alveoli tilt in

the rostrodorsal direction. In contrast, the male Sulawesi babirusa has long and

thick upper canines, and the alveoli are vertically implanted (lateral view; photo

by Masaaki Ito). (A black and white version of this figure will appear in some formats.

For the colour version, please refer to the plate section.)

.010

12:33:30