THE BABIRUSA HOG 1 71 



tail. The general outlines resemble those of a pig, 

 save that the body is compressed laterally, and that it 

 stands much higher on the legs than usually 

 misrepresented in books. The snout terminates 

 in a disc; the eyes and ears are small; 1 the 

 short tail bears a few stiff bristles at the tip. The 

 skin is wrinkled tranversely like a maggot's ; it is 

 nearly naked, and dotted all over with granulations, 

 which become coarser about the limbs and feet and 

 on the front of the head, face, and lower jaw. The 

 colour of the hide is ashy grey, with blackish ears ; 

 a scanty covering of fine yellowish down may occur 

 along the back in adult animals. In advanced 

 age the hide on the back and sides becomes all 

 rough, chipped, and scaly like the bark of a tree, and 

 the down disappears. In younger adults such down 

 is represented by black bristles, stubby like an 

 unshaven chin, and plentifully besprinkled over the 

 muzzle and median area of the face, on the vertex, 

 occiput, and nape, and on the withers, back, loins, 

 and tail. 



The most remarkable feature of the babirusa, 

 however, is its tusks. Most developed in the male, 

 these weapons are arranged in two pairs ; they are 

 flattened laterally, are quite devoid of enamel, and 

 are armed with sharp cutting edges. The upper 

 pair (canines) rise close together near the middle 



1. The iris is greyish white, giving the animal a peculiar appearance, 

 as if a " doll's eye " had been inserted into the orbit. The actual tint is 

 an exceedingly pale green-grey, faintly tinged with rusty brown. 



