Babirusa at Rest

Aw, look at the little babirusa sleeping. How sweet is that? Look at the naked, wrinkled, porcine flesh as it naps in the shade. How about those elfin, bat-like ears? Oh, and those precious teeth, with the upper tusks thrusting through the flesh of the snout? Seriously, just like seeing a child who has been misbehaving all day fall asleep and you're reminded of how much you love them, so it is when you see this pig at rest.

Photo source: Marika Bell

Why do those teeth grow through the snout like that? If you talk to the natives of the small tropical Indonesian island of Sulawesi, it's because the pig likes to rest his head by hooking the tusks over low hanging tree branches (I could use tusks like that...).

Or perhaps the tusks curve back like that to protect the eyes and face from the lower, slashing tusks of rival males. Whatever the reason, take a moment and look at your own teeth in the mirror and take some consolation from the fact that no matter how gnarly they are, how much like baked beans or candy corn they may look like, not one of them has grown through your nose and is now protruding over your eye.

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