Head to head
Sulawesi Babirusa vs Wild Boar
Sulawesi Babirusa
VS Wild Boar
The Sulawesi babirusa and wild boar are both wild members of the pig family, but one is a rare island oddity with tusks through its snout and the other the common ancestor of domestic pigs.
| Sulawesi Babirusa | Wild Boar | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Babyrousa celebensis | Sus scrofa |
| Tusks | Males have upper tusks that grow upward through the skin of the snout and curve back toward the forehead | Continuously growing canines, with the lower tushes kept sharp by the upper whetters |
| Skin and size | Thick, wrinkled grey skin with very little hair | Typically 50 to 100 kg, with large boars over 200 kg |
| Range | Sulawesi and nearby islands in Indonesia only | Native to Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia, and feral across the Americas, Australia, and many islands |
| Diet | Fruit, leaves, roots, and invertebrates, and sometimes carrion | Roots, tubers, nuts, fruit, insects, eggs, small animals, carrion, and crops |
| Name or ancestry | Babirusa comes from Malay words meaning deer-pig | The ancestor of the domestic pig |
| Human pressure | Hunted for meat and losing forest to clearing and development | Feral hogs are among the most destructive invasive animals, causing billions of dollars of damage |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable, with a decreasing population | Least Concern, with an increasing population |
Sulawesi Babirusa vs Wild Boar: common questions
Why do babirusa tusks grow through the snout?
The upper tusks of males grow upward through the skin of the snout and curve back toward the forehead, rather than growing out of the mouth.
Which one is the ancestor of the domestic pig?
The wild boar, which is the ancestor of the domestic pig.
Where do the Sulawesi babirusa and wild boar live?
The Sulawesi babirusa lives only on Sulawesi and nearby islands in Indonesia, while the wild boar is native to Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia.