122 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



tically naked. Its coarse, rough, wrinkled skin is only very thinly 

 covered with small brown hairs, which are only noticeable on close in- 

 spection ; there is, however, a scanty tuft on the end of the tail. The 

 young, however, have rather more hair, which is black in hue. 



The eyes are peculiar, as Dr. Graham Renshaw has pointed out, in 

 having the iris nearly white, which gives the animal a very characteristic 

 expression. It will be noticed that the general form is quite slender and 

 elegant for a Pig, and the head unusually small, so that, taking the 

 horn-like upper tusks also into consideration, it is not so surprising that 

 the name of the animal means in the Malay language " Pig-Deer." 



The Babirusa is found in forests, usually singly, for it is not a very 

 sociable animal. Like so many naked beasts, it is very fond of a bath, 

 though wallowing is a taste common to many of the Pig family. It 

 is a fierce brute, and fights bravely when brought to bay. Guillemard, 

 in "The Cruise of the Marchesa," mentions an instance in which an 

 infuriated Babirusa actually started to run up a sloping tree-trunk in 

 pursuit of a native who had climbed the tree to get out of his way, 

 thus confirming a rather incredible-sounding native story that this Pig 

 would ascend suitable trees. Tree-climbing is certainly a very abnormal 

 performance for a cloven-hoofed animal ; but among the Goats the 

 Markhor has been known to climb, and so will even the common Goat 

 always, of course, if the tree is suitably sloped and branched. It is just 

 possible that it is in this way that the old story arose which credited 

 the Babirusa with hanging himself up at night by his curved tusks : 

 possibly some unfortunate specimen had involuntarily committed suicide 

 by getting up on a branch, and, falling, hitching his tusks on another, 

 and the assumption was thence made that the position was voluntarily 

 selected. 



For a Pig, the Babirusa is not at all prolific ; it has only two 

 young at a time, and these remain for a day or two in a hole lined 

 with leaves, wherein they are deposited at birth. They soon, however, 

 follow the mother about. 



This curious Pig thrives well in captivity, but is not a very 

 common animal in menageries ; it has produced young in our Zoological 



