Babyrousa togeanensis, Sody, 1949

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Suidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 248-291 : 276

3.

Togian Babirusa

Babyrousa togeanensis

French: Babiroussa des Togian / German: Togian-Hirscheber / Spanish: Babirusa de Togian

Taxonomy. Babirussa babyrousa togeanensis Sody, 1949 ,

“Malengi island, Togean group, Res. Manado, N. Celebes ” ( Indonesia, N Sulawesi, Togean Isls, Malenge Isl).

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Togian Archipelago (Batudaka, Togian, Talatakoh & Malenge Is); recently, their tracks also were reported from the small Kadidiri I, N of Togian I.

Descriptive notes. No body measurements are available, but based on skull measurements B. fogeanensis appears the largest of the three babirusa species. It has Sparser, shorter body hair than Moluccan Babirusa ( B. babyrussa ), and in contrast to Sulawesi Babirusa ( B. celebensis ), the tail tuft is well developed. The upper canines of males are this species’ most distinctive feature: they are short, slender, rotated forwards, and always converge. The frontal furrows on the skull are always shallow, with sloping edges. It is endemic to the Togian Islands, an island group that has been separated from the adjacent eastern arm of Sulawesi for c.12,000 years. This suggests that the babirusas from the eastern arm of Sulawesi should be closely related to the Togian animals, but an absence of specimens makes this impossible to test. It cannot be ruled out that Togian Babirusas were introduced to the Togian Islands by people, but just as likely, the species swam to these islands. Even though B. togeanensis is the largest of the babirusa species, it was initially characterized by its small teeth, especially the third molar. Further study showed that compared to the other species, B. togeanensis has relatively large premolars, especially P,, P,, and P°.

Habitat. Babirusas generally inhabit tropical rainforest on the banks of rivers and ponds abounding in water plants. The natural vegetation on the Togian Islands consists of wet forests of variable types, frequently differing from one island to another, and ranging from monsoon to evergreen. B. togeanensis has also been sighted in mixed gardens, regrowing scrub on former slash-and-burn cultivation fields, secondary forest, village edges, freshwater swamps, and beaches. On Malenge and Kadidiri Islands, the species is most frequently seen moving through coconut plantations.

Food and Feeding. B. togeanensis reportedly feeds on rhizomes, fallen fruits (Pangium edule, Dracontomelon sp., Mangiferasp., Artocarpus sp., Spondias dulcis) and also tamarinds and cacao, as well as annual herbs and vegetables. The species is also reported to feed on coconut, but it is unclear whether it eats the shoots of young trees or the fallen fruits.

Breeding. Nothing is known about the breeding behavior of B. togeanensis , but it is assumed to be similar to the much better known B. celebensis . Litter size as observed by local farmers is 2-3 young.

Activity patterns. During interview surveys on the Togian Islands, most respondents (68:2%) reported encountering B. togeanensis in the morning, between 06:00 h and 10:00 h. The reported observations of the species included various activities during that time, such as foraging, mating, wallowing, and resting.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In interviews, 37% of the respondents mentioned that B. togeanensis is a solitary animal, whereas 29-6% of those questioned reported that the species is gregarious, usually seen in groups composed of one adult pair with a litter. Group sizes of more than five individuals were reported by 29-5% of the respondents; these groups typically were composed of an adult male with multiple females and a litter.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List because its extent of occurrence is less than 5000 km?, its distribution is severely fragmented, there is continuing decline in the extent and quality ofits habitat, its population is estimated to number fewer than 2500 mature individuals, a continuing decline in the number of mature individuals has been observed, and no subpopulation contains more than 250 mature individuals. Babirusas on the Togian Islands are susceptible to habitat loss due to forest clearance and forestfires, to disturbance by humans, and to predation by dogs. They are occasionally hunted by the local people if perceived as a threat to crops. Hunting for food occurs only in a few non-Muslim village communities. In 1998, two thirds of Malenge Island’s forest was damaged by fire. No large animal carcasses were found and babirusas have been seen in several of these localities since, but the fire may have impacted food availability for the species. In 1978, the babirusa population on the Togian Islands was estimated in the region of 500-1000 individuals. Recent estimates place the upper limit of population size at about 500. Local residents questioned recently did not agree on population size, giving ranges from fewer than 100 to more than 1000, but the interview surveys did suggest that at least between 1995 and 2000 there had not been a sharp population decline.

Bibliography. Akbar et al. (2007), Groves (2001a, 2001b), Hart (2009), Ito et al. (2005), Macdonald et al. (2008), Meijaard & Groves (2002a, 2002b), Selmier (1983).

Figures

On following pages 2 Moluccan Babırusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) 3 Tog an Babırusa (Babyrousa rogeanensıs) 4 Common Warthog (Phacochoorus alncanus) 5 Desert Warthog (Phacochoerus aethıopıcus) 6 Forest Hog (Hylochoerus maınenzhagenı) Bushpıg (Pommochoeıus Iarvalusl 8 Red Rıver Hog (Poramochoerus porcas)

Distribution. Togian Archipelago (Batudaka, Togian, Talatakoh & Malenge Is); recently, their tracks also were reported from the small Kadidiri I, N of Togian I.