Toronto Zoo Babirusa - Action Indonesia Day

The Toronto Zoo is home to two North Sulawesi babirusa. These unique members of the pig family are only found on several islands in Indonesia. Bucky, our 12-year-old male, displays the long curving tusks that male babirusa are known for. Olive, our 11-year-old female, has tusks that are small and barely noticeable, which is typical for females. Babirusa eat a variety of plant material such as fruits, leafy browse, and seeds. They will even strip bark from logs. Keepers try to offer the babirusa their food in a variety of ways to promote natural foraging behaviours. Hiding food in hanging containers encourages them to display a ‘reaching up’ behaviour which would be used to reach leaves in trees. Just like babirusa in the wild, Bucky and Olive love to wallow in mud. The mud keeps them cool and helps to prevent bug bites and sunburn. After wallowing they will rub themselves against a tree to remove the excess mud. Both babirusa are always eager to train and have been trained to enter a c