Zoo welcomes twins of ‘fantastic’ mother — an at-risk species. Meet Piggy and her babies
A pig-like creature from Southeast Asia welcomed new babies into its growing family, photos from a Florida zoo show.
Piggy, a North Sulawesi babirusa mother, recently gave birth to twins, according to a Jan. 13 Facebook post from the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne. The tiny babies have so far shown no health problems and have been nursing from their mother, the zoo said.
“Piggy is showing her fantastic motherly instincts,” the zoo’s Lands of Change area supervisor Kristen Gagnon said in a blog.
North Sulawesi babirusas come from Indonesia, where they prefer to live along riverbanks and lakes, according to the Brevard Zoo. They eat mostly leaves, grass and fruit, the zoo said. When they live in captivity, babirusas can live up to 24 years.
But what the pig-like creatures are mostly known for is the somewhat gnarled tusks that grow on their face. The tusks can grow up to a foot long, and they’re used to protect the babirusa’s face, the zoo said. While they don’t typically dig around for food with their tusks, they do burrow their snouts in soil in a practice called “ploughing,” which marks their territory.
The species is considered vulnerable, the zoo said. Babirusas are killed from poaching, as well as encroaching habitat loss.
Their at-risk status is what made Piggy’s new babies a “conservation win,” the zoo said.
Piggy and the twins have continued to bond together in a “behind-the-scenes space” as the babies continue to gather their bearings and gain some confidence with their “little legs,” the zoo wrote.
But in time, the twins will be introduced to their father, Meru, as well as their two brothers, Billy and Bob, the zoo said.
The two brothers were born at the zoo May 18, 2022, according to the zoo. Before the duo were born, Piggy gave birth to Java in 2018, who was transferred to another zoo as part of a breeding program.
The “goofy” pair love to explore their habitat — first with their mother, and now on their own.
More updates on the twins will come after they undergo their neonatal exam in a few months, the zoo said, which will help determine their sexes.
Melbourne is about 55 miles southeast of Orlando.
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