Zoo Miami is now home to a rare newborn babirusa, an endangered species known for its unusual appearance, marking an historic occasion as it's the first of its kind to be born at the facility. WSVN reported that the baby was born on December 15 to its nearly 5-year-old parents, Maggie and Harry, who hail from the St. Louis Zoo and the Audobon Zoo, respectively.
The sex of the peculiar swine is still a mystery to the staff, and it remains with its mother in a private area, not yet introduced to the public. According to the zoo, babirusas, which means "pig deer" in Malay, have a striking appearance especially the males, with their large tusks that resemble antlers, some growing so long that they curve back towards the creature's forehead and it makes them stand out as some of the strangest looking pigs in the wild, CBS News Miami included.
While the father, Harry, remains on view for visitors, the mother and her offspring are expected to stay hidden as they prepare for eventual exposure to their moated habitat, challenges lie ahead in the careful and crucial days of early life, these animals originating from Indonesia's swamps and rainforests face risks of habitat destruction and hunting making conservation efforts in institutions like Zoo Miami an imperative part of their survival.
Despite the challenges in the wild, where their lifespan averages about 10 years, accommodated in facilities like Zoo Miami, babirusas are known to live twice as long, their diet varying from fruits and roots to small mammals and, on the less savory end of the spectrum, occasionally their own young the zoological community holding its breath for the careful growth of its newest oddity.
